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OVER THE SEA 



TRAVEL LETTERS 



ELLA WORTH PENDERGAST 



To travel is an education. 
To Ivrite of travel is to live it dber again. 



SQMERVILLE JOURNAL PRINT 
1908 









LiSRARY of CONGRESS! 
i'wo Copies 1 Received 

NOV 9 190 

Gojjynjjnt entry 

CLASS (X~ XXft Mo, i 

COPY 3, 



Copyright 1008 by Ella Worth Tendergast 



All Rights Reserved 



Over the Sea 



BeMcateb 

to 

i 

my fello\v*traveler on Xite's Journey, 
mv> busbanfc, 

(Beorac THcnr^ jpenfccrcjaet 



Cbat tbte volume ma? recall and renew past pleasures to 

tbe experienced traveler, be of assistance to one going 

into tbese countries for tbe first time, and give 

pleasure, bv. mailing far-awav. places seem more 
'. •• real -to^bo^e wbo cannot go and see for tbem- 
selves, is tbe sincere wisb of tbe autbor. 



Digitized by the Internet Archive 
in 2011 with funding from 
The Library of Congress 



http://www.archive.org/details/overseaOOpend 



H Visit to afuncbai, /ifcaoetra. 

( )n board the Moltke, Funchal, Madeira. 
February 7, 1908. 

It was indeed a welcome sight to the passengers on 
this good ship when yesterday noon the rugged outlines 
of the island of Madeira stood out in bold relief against 
the sky, and we knew that in a few hours we should land 
and enjoy the attractions of Funchal, after eight days of 
rough sailing on the Atlantic. 

We have enjoyed bullock-sled rides, funicular railway 
up the mountain, coasting down in the basket-sleds man- 
aged by two men with guide ropes;' been pelted with 
roses, camellias, and violets by the children eager for 
pennies ; bought Funchal laces and other souvenirs, in- 
cluding a Portuguese flag ; gazed longingly at many in- 
teresting articles too bulky, too frail, or too costly to 
purchase, and contenting ourselves with what we have, 
are once, more on board skip ready to sail for Cadiz and 
our five-days' trip in Southern Spain. Bright among 
our memories of Funchal will be the magnificent color- 
ing and variety of its moods, our first view from our 
casement this mornino- being one never to be forgotten: 



Over the Sea. 



The highest summits capped with snow which had fallen 
during the night, and now made rosy by the morning 
sunlight ; lower down the pine woods, which furnish the 
inhabitants with fuel for cooking; still lower the 
areas of sugar-cane, bananas, date-palms, oranges, cus- 
tard apples, and grapes, and for brilliant coloring all 
through the middle and lower level of the picture were 
the magnificent dowers, roses, camellias, trumpet vine, 
and many others whose names I could not learn. 

There really are several islands in the group, two, Ma- 
deira and Porto Santo, inhabited, and the others deso- 
late for lack of water. The entire length of this one of 
the group is a continuous chain of mountains, the high- 
est 6,000 feet, dotted over on the lower slopes with the 
white dwellings, with their red and brown tile roofs, with, 
here and there the church spires and the big hotels. 
There are man}' small streams named for the various 
saints, which come tumbling down from the mountains, 
furnishing water to the inhabitants, and hieing well pat- 
ronized by the native women for laundry purposes, sav- 
ing them any need of wash-tub and clothes-lines, for 
the}' spread their clothes on the rocks to dry. 

Idie sugar-cane made into sugar and rum. and the 
grapes into the famous Madeira wine are the two prin- 
cipal industries, besides making all possible gain from 
the tourists, who are so entranced with the place that 



io 



Over the Sea. 



they fall an easy prey to the many natives who on one 
pretext or another beg yon to buy or give in charity. 
English people arc especial patrons of the place for the 
winter. The sugar industry of Madeira is well pro- 
tected by the placing of a duty of seventeen cents on 
every pound of sugar brought to the island. 

The last of the passengers are now on board, and we 
shall soon be on our way to Spain. All the flags are at 
half-mast for the murdered King and Crown Prince of 
the mother country, Portugal. 



(Btimpses of Spain. 

Seville, Spain, February 10, 1908. 

We had a good voyage from Funchal to Cadiz, 
which port we reached at 7 A. M. yesterday. The 
Moltke anchored quite a distance from shore, to 
which we were conveyed in a large lighter. Our brief 
stay of a few hours was improved to the utmost. The 
people were just going to mass, and we went, too, to 
the handsome Moorish-looking cathedral, only about 
100 years old, however. We heard the priests and 
assistants intone the service for a little, felt thankful our- 
selves for safe-keeping so far on our long journey, ad- 
mired the lofty arches and the beautiful violet light that 
flooded the main dome. Then we took carriage again 
and visited an old convent, whose small unique chapel 
has its main altar adorned with Murillo's last work, 
"The Marriage of St. Catherine." This is also the 
spot where he met death, for when all but one small cor- 
ner of the picture had been finished he fell from the scaf- 
fold and was fatally injured. 

Then we went to the Aeademie des Belles Arts, and 
among other pictures saw one of Murillo's fall and 




ALCAZAR, SEVILLE. 



Over the Sea. 13 

death, in which he was represented gazing- with regretful 
eyes at the unfinished work, which was afterwards com- 
pleted by one of his pupils. A long drive about Cadiz, 
seeing the ancient forts, the narrow streets, the dwell- 
ings, with their balconied windows, many times filled 
with handsome senoritas and stately senoras, all in their 
best attire, for it was Sunday, was a novel experience. 
Many were very beautiful in face and figure, and the 
grace with which they arranged and wore their mantillas 
and all their costume will long be remembered. It was 
pleasing, too, to receive friendly smiles and nods from 
these. people, who had been the conquered adversaries 
of the United States not so very long ago. 

Cadiz was 347 years old before Rome was built. It 
has a beautiful landlocked harbor, and proved of great 
interest and enjoyment to us. But noon soon came 
and we had a three-hours' railroad ride from Cadiz to 
Seville, seeing man)' cactus and century plant hedges, 
queerly thatched huts, thousands of acres of land cut 
up into small plots by innumerable ditches, hooded by 
the sea water, which is then evaporated, and the salt 
deposited is shoveled np, and made into pyramids. 
Thoroughly dried, it is then cut off and shipped away as 
the well-known Cadiz salt of commerce. 

But we gradually left the ocean behind us, and en- 
tered the grazing, farming, and fruit districts. Bios- 



I I Over the Sea. 

soming peach trees, olive groves, alfalfa, and graperies 
gave interest to the landscape, and at four o'clock we 
reached Seville, and at once took carriages for a Sunday 
afternoon drive on the grand avenue, frequented by 
everyone that can get a vehicle at that hour. But the 
surface of the driveway was poor, and rubber tires were 
not plentiful, though there were fine turnouts en- 
joyed by aristocratic looking families, many of whom 
were accompanied by a nurse in the Spanish nurse's 
picturesque costume, holding the youngest member of 
the family, very elaborately dressed, in the lap. 

It happened that the royal baby was thus being taken 
out by a lady-in-waiting and a maid, but the King and 
Queen did not appear in public until to-day. They are 
making a little visit here, which was unfortunate for us, 
as their presence and occupancy closed the fine old 
Palace, the Alcazar, to all visitors. The large cathe- 
dral is quite disappointing, as it is much broken in the 
interior, and one fails to get the idea of grand extent 
of space that the exterior leads one tit expect. In the 
chapel of the poor house, which is really very beautiful, 
is the great painting by Murillo, "Moses Striking the 
.Rock," which is a most impressive picture. 

Seville is very rich in Murillo's works, and has a fine 
statue of him in the Plaza del Muses. The monument 
and sarcophagus of Christopher Columbus is in the 



Over the Sea. 15 

great cathedral, and there, too, is Murillo's "St. An- 
tony," cut out by a thief and carried to America, bought 
again and restored to its place by J. Pierpont Morgan. 
The restoration has been wonderfully accomplished. In 
the Academie are Murillo's first "Conception," also a 
large and later one of the same subject, his "St. 
d nomas," and most interesting to me, his "Madonna of 
the Napkin," so called because he actually painted it on 
a dinner napkin and gave it to the chief cook of the Ca- 
puccino convent. There were paintings by Castillo, 
Murillo's teacher, and many other artists. 

Many dignitaries of various rank and representing 
various nations were driving through the streets to-day 
on their way to and from a visit to the King. The 
coachmen and footmen were gorgeous in cocked hats 
and white wigs with queues, and some of the dignitaries 
had fine uniforms and many decorations. 

A visit to Seville would hardly be complete without 
witnessing a real Spanish dance. The dancers are 
most elaborately dressed in Spanish style, and are very 
graceful in their dancing. The many-hued shawls 
draped in various pretty ways, the fancy gowns, dainty 
shoes, elaborate hair-dressing, wonderful combs, flow- 
ers, and ribbons, with the lace mantilla, worn as 
they alone know how to wear it, are all a part of their 
attractiveness.. It is a strange experience to go shop- 



Over the Sen. 17 

ping, not knowing the language of the country, but 1 
have succeeded in getting what [ wished and paying for 
it, mostly by pantomime. We never know what we 
can do until we try. 

To-morrow we go to Granada, and of onr experiences 
there I'll tell vou in my next letter. 



1Jn /iDoorisb palaces, Hloiers ano Genoa. 

Malaga, Spain, February 13, 1908. 

While the Moltke still lies at anchor in this harbor I 
will tell of our experiences since leaving" Seville, before 
the wondrous spell of the Alhambra has left me and 
while the beautiful things we have seen are still fresh 
in mind. The only trouble is that where one sees 
so much in so short a time and tries to tell it all, some- 
thing must be forgotten momentarily, as in my last let- 
ter I forgot to mention the beautiful Giralda at Seville, 
now used as a bell-tower in connection with the Grand 
cathedral, but built and used by the Moors as a tower 
from which the calls to prayer could be made. 

The dav's travel from Seville to Granada was most 
interesting. The Spaniards seem to be a very indus- 
trious people, and T should judge them to be very good 
farmers. 1 hey certainly cultivate the ground thor- 
oughly. The soil, even in the olive groves, is culti- 
vated, and some kind of a crop raised between the rows 
of trees. Some horses and oxen and many burros are 
used in the work. Burros are sold very cheap, cost- 



20 Over the Sea. 

ing only about three dollars for an ordinary sized one, 
and five dollars will purchase one of the largest and 
best ones. 

It is spring now in Southern Spain, and some crops 
are already being cultivated, while the ground is being 
prepared for later crops. Quantities of sugar-beets are 
raised, and there are many beet-sugar factories, also 
alcohol distilleries. The early Mowers here are very 
interesting, violets, blue irises, daisies, prettier than 
ours, with violet tips to their white petals, and pretty 
yellow and pink Mowers were the blossoms that grew 
by the roadside, while the peach and other small fruit 
trees were in full bloom. Then the orange and lemon 
groves, with their handsome golden and pale yellow 
fruit, added to the beauty and interest of the scene. 

Lunching at Bobadilla and continuing our journey, 
the grand Sierra Nevada mountains, with their snow- 
covered summits, came into view, and at Mve o'clock we 
reached Granada and were soon settled in our rooms at 
the new Hotel Paris, where we were made very com- 
fortable. 

Yesterday we visited the wonderful Alhambra, famed 
in history, song, and story, and made especially inter- 
esting to Americans by Washington Irving's "Alham- 
bra," written on the spot while enjoying the privilege 



Over the §ca. U 

of occupying the governor's apartments and the private 
garden, formerly used by Boabdil's favorite wife and 
the Queen. The rooms he occupied are now being re- 
stored, and we went through them. The Queen's bou- 
doir is quite well preserved, and in one corner was a 
perforated marble slab, from which perfumes formerly 
arose. We passed all through the rooms, which can In- 
visited by tourists, the Court of Myths, with its mirror- 
like pond, stocked with gold-fish, the Court of the Cy- 
presses, and the Hall of the Ambassadors, where Isabella 
gave her jewels to Columbus to enable him to go in 
search of the new world. It was only two weeks after 
Granada capitulated that Columbus received his com- 
mission to sail. The Chambers of the Baths were nu- 
merous, and the wonderful system of water supply 
arranged by the Moors still flows throughout the Al- 
ii ambra. 

The Hall of the Tombs contains several tombstones 
of old Moorish rulers, with many inscriptions cut upon 
their surfaces. The Court of Lions seemed strangely fa- 
miliar from the many pictures we had seen of it. The 
Hall of the Abencerrages, with its marble basin, bearing 
red stains, recalled the story of the assassination of 
Hamet, a prominent member of the family of the Aben- 
cerrages, and all his tribesmen, who had been invited to 



22 Over the Sen. 

a banquet by Boabdil. As they entered this room they 
were beheaded at the fountain, in revenge for Hamet 
having- dared to fall in love with the Sultana. The room 
of the Two Sisters was my favorite, with its dainty 
traceries on the walls, its handsome dadoes, its wonder- 
ful stalactite-like ceiling, its delicate tints and designs, 
and the immense twin dag-stones in the floor, which 
give it its name. 

After making the Alhambra what it was and enjoying 
its splendors and wealth for eight centuries, it is no 
wonder that the Moors wept upon departing as exiles, 
nor that Boabdil's last request was that the great gate 
through which he passed into the Court of the Myths 
might never again be used. It seems as if his request 
should have been respected by Ferdinand and his de- 
scendants. It is a great pity that Charles V. should have 
destroyed some fine Moorish buildings to make a site 
for the pretentious palace, which he began and never 
finished, and which seems so out of place in the midst 
of the surrounding beauties of Moorish architecture. 
The old watch tower is well-preserved, and we climbed 
its worn, winding stone steps and obtained the wonder- 
ful view from its tiled roof. The city lay almost at our 
feet; the Moorish walls climbing and stretching along 
on the nearby hills ; old churches, the convent of St. Ce- 



Over the Sea. 23 

cilia, built on the spot where St. Cecilia was burned; the 
country stretching' away in the distance until the Sierra 
Nevadas, with their snowy summits, made the back- 
ground of the picture, was one that we will not soon 
forget. We made a brief visit to the Generalifi, or sum- 
mer palace of the Moorish kings, beautifully located on 
a high lull, with beautiful gardens, terraces, and foun- 
tains, and magnificent views of the country. There 
were some cypress trees in its garden which are 600 
years old, and under one of them was the trysting place 
of Hamet and the Sultana. 

We next visited the monastery of La Cartiya, which 
has many old paintings and a magnificent sacristy, with 
wonderful Sierra Nevada marble base for the beautiful 
wall, columns, and doors and cabinets. Its altar is in- 
laid most beautifully in tortoise shell and ivory. The 
monastery has a wealth of art treasures which, if con- 
verted into money and used for the poor, would do away 
with many of the pitiful human objects who lingered 
about its doors and begged for alms to relieve their 
sufferings. 

The Granada cathedral is about the age of America, 
having been built about the time that Columbus made 
his voyage of discovery. The interior arrangement was 
to me more beautiful than that of Seville. In its roval 



„ 



i&il ** 




Over /lie Sen. 25 

chapel are the sarcophagi of Ferdinand and Isabella, 
also of their son, Philip, the beautiful, and Johanna, his 
queen, and at the various shrines are many great art 
treasures, notably a fine bas-relief of St. Michael, paint- 
ings by Murillo and other Spanish artists. In its 
sacristy are treasures, of great historic value, including 
the jewel casket given by Isabella to Columbus, her 
mirror, and old crown, and beautiful gold embroidered 
vestments. 

A drive to the home of the gypsies, made in the side of 
the hill above the city, and to the Alameda, or principal 
driving boulevard, where we saw the fine statue of Isa- 
bella receiving Columbus, and a brief visit to the stores 
finished a very busy, but intensely interesting day 
at Granada. 

Aesterday we rested while making a day's travel from 
Granada to Malaga. Again the farms, orchards, flow- 
ers, homes, and people furnished plenty of entertain- 
ment, and after lunch at Bobadilla, we had a great treat 
as we viewed the grand scenery of the Darrow as it 
rushed through the narrow defiles and gorges hundreds 
of feet below us, just before reaching El Chorro (which 
means "the hell"), the sides of the canyon rising to the 
heights of mountains above the muddy river torrent. 
This was badlv swollen by the tremendous cloud-burst 



26 Over the Sea. 

that recently afflicted the region. One bridge had been 
washed away, but a temporary bridge enabled us to go 
on our way and safely reach Malaga, where we had a 
warm welcome from Captain Dempwolff and the pas- 
sengers who had remained on board. 

We then sailed from Malaga to Algiers, having a most 
interesting view of the coast of Africa for several hours 
before reaching our port, finding it mountainous and 
very attractive. 

In the bright light of a sunny afternoon Algiers pre- 
sented a most attractive appearance, with the mountains 
for a background, and the Moorish, Arabian, and vari- 
ous other styles of architecture shown in the closely- 
grouped buildings, grades, or terraces of the town. 
When we explored it, while it seemed novel and interest- 
ing, to me it was disappointing, and in very many re- 
spects there was much that was repulsive. 

The view of city, harbor, and shipping from the old 
fort on the high hill is charming, and the trip down 
through the old Arab quarters was something to be re- 
membered, but one would never wish to repeat the ex- 
perience. We went in small parties, led by reliable 
guides, and were charged to go slowly, as the stone 
steps were slippery. These make the foundation of the 
allev-street, not more than five or six feet wide, which is 



Over the Sea. 2* 

lined on both sides by solid rows of squalid Arab habi- 
tations, out of which swarm the swarthy, dirty, 
strangely-clothed, repulsive inhabitants, all of whom you 
would fear to meet alone after dark, or alone in the day 
for that matter. We were charged by the guide to look 
closely after our pockets and hand-bags, and every once 
in a while we had to get in single file and closely hug 
the buildings, while with many shouts and prods some 
Arab would be driving by a donkey loaded with panniers, 
filled, perhaps, with offal or some other disagreeable 
load. All the way along were all sorts of little stores, 
having perhaps vegetables, bread, and cakes, metal 
work, sandals, fabrics, or garments, but the general de- 
sire seemed to be to keep right on our way and get 
into safer surroundings as soon as possible. All these 
storekeepers had a most stolid, and at the same time 
scornful air, and made no apparent effort to make sales. 
The city was in a very muddy condition, so that al- 
together it was very disagreeable. The dancing girls, 
with their gaudy costumes and hardened faces, the fe- 
male beggars, some of them with their babies tied on 
their backs, the Mohammedan women, with their 
strange, white costumes and veiled faces, and the men 
of the same race with their voluminous and effeminate 
costumes, the occasional very black negro, and the many 



Over the Sea. l r ) 

French people, besides the visitors of varying nationali- 
ties, make a kaleidoscopic variety of people. 

The Catholic cathedral has no points of special inter- 
est, and the Mosque was disappointing. The gov- 
ernor's palace is about four hundred years old, and had 
a very handsome ballroom with mirror walls, crystal 
chandeliers, and lighted from above by light coming 
through colored glass domes, giving a beautiful effect. 
The drive through the garden D'Essai showed us most 
interesting plant, shrub, and tree growth, and the view 
from the heights was superb. The suburb of Mustapha 
Superiere seemed to be the palatial residential district. 

Bidding good-by to Algiers, we sailed for Genoa, and 
soon found what a peculiar motion the Mediterranean 
could give the Moltke. One lady described it as the 
camel motion. Any way it had a disagreeable effect, 
and sent many of us 1 to bed, causing us to lose the cap- 
tain's first dinner, which was quite a grand affair, with 
many decorations, favors, waiters in fancy costumes, and 
some speeches, together with especially fine music by 
the orchestra. 

Genoa, with its fine equestrian statues of Columbus, 
Garibaldi, Mazzinf, and other noted people, its old part 
with the high tenement houses, the blinds holding the 
family wash done at the neighborhood wash-house 



30 Over the Sea. 

nearby, the fine new hotels, palaces, barracks, forts, good 
shopping districts, many cathedrals, in the largest of 
which is the Chapel of St. John the Baptist, containing 
the reputed remains of St. John the Baptist, into which 
chapel no woman is admitted excepting on one day in 
the year on account of a woman causing his beheading, 
are among the attractions of the city. Outside are 
many fortifications, castles of the wealthy, and the won- 
derful burial place known as the Campo Santo. The 
statuary in this is marvelously beautiful, the most of it 
being made from Carrara marble, although in some of 
the latest memorials bronze is introduced, combined 
with the marble. The outlines of the Campo Santo are 
like an immense oblong of covered walks, the roof sup- 
ported by columns, and the back wall cut up into larger 
or smaller spaces for individuals or families, with more 
or less elaborate statuary and many lamps, flowers, and 
even in one instance a small glass case containing some 
of the snow-white hair of the deceased. 

These niches or tombs arc very expensive, but in the 
open ground enclosed by these tombs there are graves 
at a low price, which are let for the space of five years, 
and inexpensive marble crosses are placed at the head of 
each grave. At the end of the five years the remaining 
contents of the grave are removed and burned, the 



Over the Sea. 31 

cross kept as a sacred relic by the family of the deceased, 
and the empty grave is again let. There is a crematory 
and a fine chapel on the grounds, and nearby are very 
elaborate and expensive private tombs. 

Genoa is quite a clean city, with a good water supply. 
Much more might be told of it, but we are now nearing 
Villefranche, where we shall land and visit Monte Carlo 
and Nice. The day is fine and the Maritime Alps, 
with the villages nestling at their feet on the shores 
of the bine Mediterranean, make a picture that 
is loudly calling me to come on deck and appreciate the 
beauty of the scene. 



©n tbc 1Ripiera,in ©lo Syracuse ano tbe Hslano 
of /iDalta. 

Malta, February 20, 1908. 

We have just returned to the steamer Moltke after a 
brief visit to Monte Carlo and Nice. It lacks a little 
of the height of the season, but both places are already 
well patronized, and there is plenty going on. We saw 
Nice in gala attire, as the carnival begins to-night. The 
decorations were very elaborate, arches spanning the 
main street, illuminations, Moral arbors, pagoda, and 
minaret effects, shop windows filled with grotesque cos- 
tumes and masks, all showing that the spirit of revelry 
filled the place. Very many stands have been erected 
along the line of march, from which to view the proces- 
sion and to shower with flowers the Moral parade. It 
made us wish to linger and behold the carnival, but we 
sail to-night for Sicily and had to tear ourselves away 
from the fascinating Riviera. 

An auto ride from Monte Carlo to Nice by the upper 
Corniche road, built by Napoleon, returning by the 
shore road on this perfect day, gives as much pleasure 
to lovers of nature and the beautiful as can possibly be 



Over the Sea. oo 

crowded into a few hours. Starting from our hotel near 
the great casino of Monte Carlo we skimmed along the 
many terraces, ever higher, until Monte Carlo lay far 
helow us, with its palatial buildings and beautiful 
grounds, the Prince of Monaco's fortress-like palace on 
the opposite height of Monaco, its flag fluttering in the 
breeze and indicating that the Prince was paving a brief 
visit to his home. It is said that he spends most of his 
time going about in his yacht, which to-day lav at anchor 
in the snug harbor just below his palace. The blue 
Mediterranean stretched away in ocean-like grandeur, 
and as we climbed ever higher the snow-capped Mari- 
time Alps came into view. Orange and lemon trees filled 
with fruit, roses, acacias, sweet alyssum, geraniums, and 
many other flowers were in full bloom out of doors, and 
the terraced plots of cultivated ground were all filled 
with growing vegetation. No wonder people that can 
do so like to pass their winters on the Riviera. 

After reaching the height we gradually descended in 
our winding way, and finally reached Nice, which 
has grand hotels, casinos, villas, and all that goes 
to make up a fashionable modern winter resort, includ- 
ing a magnificent promenade and drive along the blue 
sea. 

But the high location of Monte Carlo, with its bolder 
shore, had a greater charm. And who could begin to 



36 Over the Sea. 

imagine the splendor and wealth of the furnishings of 
Monte Carlo's famous gambling place unless she had 
visited it and seen for herself? The magnificent salons, 
opening the one into the other, were lighted not only by 
myriads of electric lights, but over each gambling table 
by large chandeliers, filled with oil lamps. This is done 
as a protection against 'any concerted action of 
bold thieves, who might cut the electric wires hoping to 
rob the tallies in the darkness. It was a fitting setting 
for the wealth of beauty and fashion winch filled the 
rooms by the latter part of the evening. 

In the eager circle of players which surrounded the 
gambling tallies were the yOnng, middle-aged, and old, 
and they must have all been well used to the good and 
bad Inch of the gambler, for the varying results of the 
game were accepted in silence and with apparent in- 
difference. At some of the tables gold was the only coin 
used, and large amounts must have changed hands dur- 
ing the evening. 

But much more interesting than to watch the 
gambling was viewing the varying stream of humanity 
which moved through those great rooms. Customs 
must have changed somewhat, for full evening dress for 
gentlemen was no longer a condition of entrance, and 
it was a very cosmopolitan company. Ladies and gen- 
tlemen in plain traveling costume were side bv side with 



Over the Sea. 3< 

my lad}' in magnificent evening toilet. Very rich and 
striking were many of the costumes, and many countries 
were represented, from an East Indian prince, with 
white silk turban and regulation evening dress, to the 
dainty Dresden-like Parisian lady, wearing a striking 
up-to-date creation of the most extreme style. Many 
and beautiful were the empire-styled gowns worn by the 
most distinguished-looking ladies, and the faces were 
almost universally made-up. 

It is a very useful lesson to look on for a while if one 
will but take the moral of the place and profit thereby. 
The Prince of Monte Carlo, who is a very good ac- 
countant and business man, at the expiration of an ex- 
isting lease with the company running the Casino, makes 
a close calculation of the highest rental they will possibly 
pay, and requires that to be the next rental price. It is 
said to be at least $2,000,000 at the present time. Out 
of that amount the Prince runs his principality, paying 
all church, school, and other expenses, including keeping 
the streets in order, and in fact all the running expenses 
of his little kingdom. So it has the unique distinction 
of being the only kingdom whose inhabitants are free 
from all taxation. Another interesting fact is that no 
inhabitant of Monte Carlo or Nice is allowed to enter 
the Casino at Monte Carlo, therefore they escape that 
temptation to gamble. The Casino also has the great 



38 Over the Sea. 

credit of being run honestly. Those at Nice are not as 
well spoken of in that respect. 

With delightful memories of our brief visit to the 
Riviera, we sailed in a southerly direction over the 
Mediterranean, passing between Corsica and Sardinia, 
by the volcanoes of Stromboli and Etna, a fine view of 
the latter being obtained as we passed in the morning 
sunshine. Its summit was snow-capped, and only a 
small issue of smoke told of its dangerous nature. 

Arriving at Syracuse, formerly one of the greatest of 
the Hellenic cities, we explored the old Grecian theatre, 
built in T-~>(> B. C, seating 30.000 people, and which was 
once the scene of the great Grecian plays. It had no un- 
happy associations of Christians or men and beasts be- 
ing killed for the enjoyment of its spectators. On the 
rising ground of its upper slopes at the man) streams 
of running water, so long ago provided by the care and 
forethought of the Greeks, were many native women do- 
ing their family washing on stone washboards, and sing- 
ing happily at their work. 

Nearby are the famous quarries where so many poor 
Greeks, conquered by their foes, were starved to death 
in this great, deep, natural prison. The bottom of the 
quarry is now laid out in a pretty Mower garden, and 
there is nothing to suggest the ghastly horrors of which 
it was once the scene. 



Over the Sea. ".:» 

The catacombs are of considerable extent, but rather 
uninteresting. The cathedral encloses some of the pil- 
lars of the Temple of Minerva, and the fountain of 
Arethusa is of especial interest from the fact that grow- 
ing wild on its edges are the remaining specimens of the 
papyrus, brought to this island by the Egyptians from 
their native land, where it then grew in abundance, but 
now has entirely died out. From this plant the ancients 
made their parchments. Other than these ruins of 
ancient glory, Syracuse is very uninteresting. 

On returning to the Moltke a gala Washington's 
birthday dinner was happily participated in by all on 
board, with the dining-room gaily decorated, and the en- 
tire company rising and drinking toasts to the memory 
of Washington, to President Roosevelt, and to the Ger- 
man Emperor. Very fitting and friendly it seemed to 
have a noted German doctor propose the toast to the 
"Father of our country and to our President," and for 
one of our countrymen to acknowledge the courtesy, and 
propose a toast to the Kaiser. For the next three hours 
merriment reigned on the promenade deck, which was 
enclosed with canvas and decorated with flags and lan- 
terns, and where a grand march and dancing was en- 
joyed by captain, officers, and many of the passengers, 
some of them in grotesque masquerade costume. 

At 11 o'clock anchors were hoisted, and we steamed 



Over the Sea. 



U 



away for Malta, in whose snug harbor we found our- 
selves on waking this morning. On landing it seemed 
good to hear so much English spoken. 

Malta is a large, prosperous, and very interesting 
place ; first, for its ancient history as the island on which 
St. Paul is supposed to have been shipwrecked; second, 
for having been for nearly three centuries in the posses- 
sion of the Knights of St. John, and lastly, because for 
over a hundred years it has been England's central 
Mediterranean stronghold. It has great forts, bar- 
racks, officers' and soldiers' quarters, military and naval 
hospital, man)- Protestant churches, and a cathedral 
haying a most beautiful interior. In the chapel of the 
sacristy are the wonderful silver gates which were pre- 
served, in the raid made Dy Napoleon and his army, by 
the quick-witted priests, who hastily painted them black, 
effectually concealing their value. 

The governor's palace has a fine courtyard, a wonder- 
ful clock, having three separate dials telling the time, 
date, and month, and an addition to the centre dial gives 
the moon's phases. This was brought from the island 
of Rhodes in l.">;5() by the Knights of St. John when they 
were driven from that island. The armory of the palace 
contained much that was interesting, especially the old 
deed from Charles V. of Spain, of the islands of Malta 



42 Over the 3ea. 

and Gozo and the fortress of Tripoli to the order of 
St. John of Jerusalem in 15150. 

In the hall of the knights were magnificent tapestries 
representing the different continents, given by Louis 
XIY. to the grand master of the order of St. John. 
They are some of the finest specimens of Gobelin tapes- 
tries in the world. The weavers sit facing a mirror, with 
the loom in front of the mirror, while behind them is the 
picture they wish to weave. This is reflected in the mir- 
ror, and the perpendicular threads of the loom against 
the reflected image in the glass clearly define the limit 
of the different colors required to reproduce the picture. 

In Malta, or rather in its capital, \ aletta, which we 
visited, are immense cisterns, in which is caught and 
preserved all the rain water, as there are no springs 
here. 

The whistle of the steamer is warning those still on 
shore that it will soon he time to start on our two-days' 
and three-nights' voyage to Egypt. 



1In the IRile Country. 

On board the Mayflower, on the Nile, 
February 29, 1908. 

The Mediterranean has moods, and when it is good 
it is very good, and when it is bad it is very bad. It was 
very good from Malta to Alexandria, and our trip, last- 
ing three nights and two days, was most enjoyable. On 
Wednesday morning we awoke in the harbor of Alexan- 
dria, and soon were in the train for Cairo. But many 
sights between the steamer and the cars made us realize 
that we were at last in Egypt. The flags bore the star 
and crescent, and the buildings, trees, and people were 
true Orientals. ( mlv the dogs, horses, and donkeys 
looked quite natural. The dark-skinned natives were so 
much begowned that at first they appeared effeminate, 
but we soon discovered that they could use tongue or 
fist with genuine masculine ardor when occasion 
required. 

Alexandria appeared to be a very busy port, with 
much shipping lying at anchor, but the immediate de- 
parture of our special train for Cairo did not allow of 
any exploring trip. For three hours we gazed out of 



Over the Sea, io 

the car windows at a flitting panorama of mud villages, 
canals, camels, donkeys, water buffaloes, fields of alfalfa, 
date palms, bananas, some mud villages thatched with 
sugar cane stalks, mud cemeteries, tents, fields 
of the poppy, from which they make opium, men 
ploughing, with queer yokes on the water buffaloes, and 
queer ploughs. 

The continuous pumping of the waters of the Nile 
every few rods, raising it in the same way as was done 
during the time of the Pharaohs, from one level to an- 
other until the cultivated fields are reached and irri- 
gated, is the means of their raising successful crops. 
But it is done mostly by hand power, and requires from 
four to eight men to carry on the dipping-up process, 
so although by this means they are able to raise two 
or three crops a year, vet the farmer's net income is 
comparatively small. Here and there the more success- 
ful farmer has water wheels with water jars fastened on 
to the belt, into which water rushes as they are plunged 
into the pool, and from which the water pours as the 
turning of the wheel "brings them on to the higher level, 
the wheel being turned by a patient, dignified-looking 
camel, or a yoke of the water buffalo. 

Cotton, grain, sugar, and rice are among the chief 
exports of Egypt. There were many sugar factories 
along the Nile, but cotton is the largest export. The 



46 Over the Sea. 

scenery became grander, and the villages more prosper- 
ous, as we approached Cairo. We merely lunched and 
rested in Cairo until half-past five, when we took the 
night train for Keneh, as our long stay in the city will he 
after we have returned from our trip on the Nile. 

All the sleeping cars were painted white on the out- 
side, and finished in cherry inside. The train is some- 
times known as the ghost train Morning found us 
refreshed by a good night's sleep and the train rapidly 
approaching Keneh. Xew York cabmen are silent com- 
pared with the howling, gesticulating, quarrelsome mob 
that met us there, and it was a wild ride that we had 
through the narrow, crooked streets of the town to the 
river, where we boarded the Mayflower, one of the 
Hamburg-American Xile steamers, and settled our- 
selves for a week's stay in the commodious staterooms 
reserved for us. 

Steaming across the river, we landed, and the most of 
us mounted donkeys. A few who preferred to do so 
were carried in chairs fastened to long poles and borne 
by six sturdy Arabs. After a half-hour's ride over the 
dusty roads, we reached the temple of Dendera, begun 
by one of the Ptolemies just before the Christian era, 
and finished early in the second century after Christ by 
the Roman emperors, Egypt having become a Roman 
province. 



Over the Sea. 47 

The temple was dedicated to the worship of the god- 
dess Hathor, the Egyptian Venus, or goddess of love 
and beauty. It is a very grand looking ruin, with 
magnificent pillars, the walls and pillars rich with his- 
tory in the bas-reliefs, hieroglyphics, and various sym- 
bols, all of which have a meaning to one who under- 
stands how to read them. Our dragoman was a perfect 
encyclopaedia on this subject, and was a fine specimen of 
Egyptian manhood. He could speak both English and 
German fluently. From the roof of the temple an ex- 
tensive view was enjoyed of the near-bv crumbling ruins 
of mud villages, which had been re-built again and 
again in the course of the centuries, each new village 
built on the debris of the old, and some fifty years ago, 
when the government undertook to restore the temple, 
workmen had to shovel from its roof the mud huts. 
The temple had not been in use since the worship of 
idols was forbidden by the Christian Roman emperor, 
Theodosius. The Libyan desert to the west, the fertile 
banks of the Xile, and the Arabian desert stretching far 
to the east could be seen from the roof, with Bedouin 
cents and sheik tombs for smaller objects of interest. 

Returning to our boat home, with the donkey boys 
running at the heels of our donkeys, frequently exclaim- 
ing, "Good donkey! fine donkey! much bakshish!" we 
^teamed up the river, arriving at Luxor with time 



48 Over the Sea. 

enough to go on shore for a short drive before dinner. 

The next morning we had to breakfast early, for it 
was to be a very busy day. At eight o'clock we crossed 
the river in small boats, then walked to the shore on 
narrow planks between a howling mob of don- 
key men, who struggled among themselves over each 
passenger that passed along. When they became too 
troublesome, the dragoman would beat them severely 
with a cane. 

At one time I shared the plank with two fighting don- 
key men, the dragoman, who was chastising them, and a 
donkey who came himself on to the plank after a pas- 
senger. By a frantic feat in balancing myself, I avoided 
a hast)' bath in the Nile, reached the shore, and was 
lifted on to a big white donkey named Gambo, who 
proved a treasure, being sure-footed and fine-gaited, and 
in the fresh morning air, when we had a good road, a 
gallop was exhilarating. 

The Temple of Kurna. built for King Seti, was briefly 
visited on our way to the Tombs of the Kings. The 
tombs already excavated are numbered, and as the 
sandy foot-hills were extremelv warm and much still re- 
mained to be visited, we were advised to visit only num- 
ber thirty-five. This is the Tomb of Amenophis II.; 
the wonderful hieroglyphics seem perfect in form and 
color, as if recently done, and down in the inner vault of 



Over the Sea. I'.' 

all is the open sarcophagus of this King, with the 
mummy in perfect preservation. When we were 
gathered at the railing looking clown into this crypt, a 
powerful electric light was turned on at the head of the 
sarcophagus, and the other lights were turned down, 
producing a most startling effect, and bringing into plain 
view the features of this old ruler, who lived about 1600 
B. C. Several of these hidden tombs have been dis- 
covered and excavated, and the work is still going on. 

It grew still warmer, and we were thankful to reach 
the Temple of Hatasu at Deir-el-bahri, where we rested 
and had sandwiches and fruit. Then the most of the 
party took a road leading past the Colossi at Thebes, 
which were most wonderful, but show greatly the 
ravages of time. Glad we were to reach the Xile again 
and have lunch on the hospitable Mayflower. 

In the afternoon the thermometer registered eighty- 
nine degrees on the promenade deck, but coolness came 
with the going down of the sun, and we went shopping 
in Luxor, were treated to real Egyptian coffee and an 
aristocratic Egyptian flower tea called by them gar- 
gaden. This was delicious, and is made from the 
flowers of the trees of the desert and of the orange and 
rose. 

To-day we have visited the Temples of Karnak 
and Luxor, driving to the former through the wonderful 




GATHERING DATES, LUXOR, 



Over the Sea. 51 

avenue of the Sphinxes. The Temple of Luxor, only 
discovered about twenty years ago, and still partially 
roofed with dwellings, a small mosque, and two mina- 
rets, which are soon to be taken down so that excava- 
tions may be continued, is the most impressive of the 
temples, and dates back to 1600 L'. C. Here are the 
mammoth images of Ramses II., the wonderful 
columns which require six men to reach around them, 
the finely preserved hieroglyphics in some parts, and 
the fine views through its great extent, the two 
Corinthian columns, which must have been added to the 
chapel or sacristy by the early Christians, and the nearby 
obelisk, all combining to make this the most interesting 
ruin of all yet visited in Egypt. We now go on to 
Assouan, its big dam, and other objects of interest. 



tin ancient JSagpt. 

Grand Continental Hotel, Cairo, Egypt. 
March 8, 1908. 

From Lnxor we steamed on up the Nile, which grew 
more interesting as we went further south. There was 
more farming land reclaimed from the desert, yet we 
were never without desert views, sometimes both the 
Libyan and Arabian deserts showing to the east and 
west of the river. The pumping of water for irrigation 
purposes was now almost entirely accomplished by 
camel or ox or water buffalo power. Sugar factories 
were frequently seen, and the natives never seemed 
happier than when chewing sugar cane, excepting when 
scrambling for "bakshish," if a few coins were thrown 
among them from the boat when making a stop at the 
landing. 

At Esneh a mammoth dam is being built, and the May- 
flower had a very long and difficult passage through 
what will be the lock when completed, as the current 
was very rapid and powerful against us, and just when 
we got into favorable position to make the passage, a 
heavy native sail-boat, or dah-be-vah, drifted against 



54 Over the Sea. 

the side of the lock in such a way as to block our pas- 
sage. It was loaded with natives returning from 
market. The pier and nearby sailing craft were also 
full of natives, all of whom proceeded to shout, gesticu- 
late, and run about as if they had gone crazy. Added to 
this were the shouts and excited actions of the pilot and 
crew on our boat, so that it was a perfect babel of wild 
sounds. In the midst of the excitement one native from 
the dah-be-yah jumped or fell overboard. Another, be- 
holding him, knelt for an instant, as if in prayer, and 
then overboard he went, presumably just from terror, 
as he made no effort to save the other man, and both 
were soon pulled safely into the boat. Finally a nearby 
tug was summoned to haul the sail-boat out of our way, 
and we steamed through the lock and on to Edfou, 
where we anchored for the night. 

In the morning we mounted donkeys, and passing 
through the village and by an Arabian schoolhouse, we 
were soon at the Temple of Edfou, which has very finely 
preserved hieroglyphics, and a grand view of the sur- 
rounding country from the top of its Pylon, just after 
assisting me on to the donkey, my donkey man was 
caught in the act of trying to open my little wrist-bag to 
heli> himself to the contents. He instantly disappeared 
in the crowd of donkey men, and another took his place, 



Over the Sea. 55 

so that he could not be pointed out to the dragoman, 
who would have punished him severely. 

Soon we were again on our way to Assouan, passing 
the attractive ruins of the Temple of SobeU: 
and Haroeris, which was built for the worship 
of two gods, yet w r as called Temple of Umbos. 
We now entered Nubia. Here on the easterly 
bank of the river is the big English irrigation plant, 
which has changed 70,000 acres of desert land into 
fertile fields with growing crops of barley, wheat, beans, 
sugar cane, and other crops. 

Reaching Assouan in the early evening the many 
lights made it seem like a large city, but daylight cor- 
rected the impression, as the town is not so very large. 
But its hotels and bazaars, the islands of Phylae and 
Elephantine, and the great dam, are very interesting. 
The sunset had been very beautiful. As in all tropical 
countries the sun sinks rapidly, and the twilight is very 
brief, but the afterglow is beautiful, and seems reluctant 
to leave the sky, and when the stars appear they are 
very bright and sparkling. Two and a half days of 
further travel on the Nile would bring us to a point from 
which we could see the Southern Cross. 

The Duke of Connaught and party, also an invalid son 
of the German Prince Henry, have just left Assouan for 
Cairo. Egypt is a great winter resort of royal and 



56 , Over the Sea. 

other invalids, and the dry air of the desert is very bene- 
ficial for pulmonary troubles. 

In the morning- we found ourselves some twenty- 
minutes' ride in a small boat away from the town on ac- 
count of the low water, but by boat, train, and boat we 
visited the island, and Temple of Phylae, which, by the 
building of the dam, is partially under water. When the 
dam is completed it will only be possible to visit it be- 
tween August and December, when the water is allowed 
to pass through the dam. This is to be regretted, for 
the Temple of Phylae is a very beautiful and interesting- 
ruin. 

The dam is a most wonderful structure, a mile and a 
quarter long, which has already cost $35,000,000. It is 
now to be raised ten feet, and this will cost $7,500,000 
more. It has one hundred and eighty gates. We 
walked over the most of its extent, passed several locks, 
then went through one in boats, and had a long water- 
trip back to the Mayflower. 

In the afternoon we visited the Elephantine island, op- 
posite the town, saw an ancient Xilometer, by which 
they watch and measure the rise and fall of the river, and 
had afternoon tea seated in the terraced garden of the 
Savoy hotel, viewing the life of river and town below us. 

The following morning we started by train on a 
twenty-four-hours' trip via Luxor for Cairo again. 



Over the Sea. 57 

Near Assouan, by the railroad, dwell the strange tribe, 
known as Bisharins, who keep their heads uncovered, 
and grease their long hair so that it stands out and 
gives them a queer appearance. Some were very scantily 
clad, and had beads braided in with their greasy locks. 

We traveled along on the east side of the Nile, the 
Libyan and Arabian deserts ever in sight, also much 
cultivated land, where irrigation had made the desert 
bloom. Tinted glass in the car windows made the hours 
of watching the passing panorama a pleasure, instead of 
blinding our eyes with the glare of sunlight on the hot 
sands, but the dust, which could not be avoided, was 
quite troublesome. We saw a beautiful mirage on the 
edge of the desert. It looked like green wooded islands 
in a beautiful blue lake. How terrible to be misled by a 
mirage if one were lost in the desert ! 

After the rude ploughs we had seen in use in Egypt, 
it was a great surprise to see in one well-irrigated 
stretch of land two steam ploughs at work. The camel 
caravans traveling along the highways with their stately 
movement, the strings of donkeys bearing all sorts of 
burdens, the goats, lambs, water buffaloes, also horses 
and occasionally oxen, all added to the interest of the 
scene, in which the strange specimens of humanity, 
their peculiar costumes and ways, played a still more im- 
portant part. The latter part of the afternoon we 



58 Over the Sea. 

reached Luxor, and were transferred to sleeping-cars 
for the continuation of our trip to Cairo, which place 
we reached at eight o'clock the next morning, and were 
soon most comfortably settled at the Grand Continental 
hotel, where we could refresh ourselves, get rid of the 
dust of the desert, and enjoy, for six days, the great city 
of Cairo. 



paoeant of Oriental Xife. 

On the broad terrace of the hotel the tired traveler has 
only to sit most comfortably and view what is passing 
to be most highly entertained. It would make a very 
long story to tell of all that passes by, but a few of the 
many which are very common are, first, the pedlers, who 
wish to sell you Egyptian shawls, beads, ostrich feather 
fans, postal cards, Egyptian stamps, laces, and many 
other articles, not forgetting the fly brushes to drive 
away the troublesome flies. 

All at once a sound of weird music is heard, and to 
my horror the snake-charmer comes up on the terrace, 
takes a mongoose out of a bag, and out of a large basket 
a boa-constrictor, which slowly crawls about under the 
watchful eye of the master and an assistant. I must 
confess to sitting on one of the tea-tables with my feet 
in a chair, all ready to stand even on the table, should 
the big snake, or a smaller cobra, which had been also 
taken from its basket, wander in my direction. Al- 
though the man assured us that the snakes' teeth and 
fangs had been removed, it was a great relief when 
they were safely shut up again and juggling tricks 
were performed. Romantic-looking fortune tellers are 



Over the Sea. 61 

at hand to tell your fortune, but what is most interesting 
is the varying tide of humanity, 'which is constantly 
passing before you in all forms and conditions. Here 
comes a little procession of people, led strangely enough 
by blind people. In their midst is an Arab bearing on 
his head a rude little coffin, containing a child's body, 
and following this is a rough open cart, filled with black- 
robed, veiled women, with more people on foot, bringing 
up the rear of this pathetic sample of life's experiences. 
Now another kind of music is heard, the sound of bag- 
pipes, and along comes a gay company of musicians and 
men, followed by a closed carriage, covered with a 
canopy. This contains a bride, being carried to her 
new home, where the bridegroom awaits her. Follow- 
ing the bride's carriage are one or two, filled with her 
family and carrying her outfit of clothing. Or it may be 
a very aristocratic wedding, with two grand state 
coaches, the bride's coach having four fine white horses, 
and the family coach two horses, each having 
coachmen, footmen, and two lackeys stand- 
ing in the rear, all in red uniforms, and followed by a 
company of government soldiers, all mounted on white 
horses, hired from the government for an escort. Or 
with great shouting, many on foot and some in car- 
riages, may appear a happy company who are escorting 
some pilgrims just home from a trip to Mecca, Or it 



(32 Over the Sea. 

may be a Greek carnival day, and people in fancy cos- 
tumes and masks may tlit about in great glee. Poverty 
and wealth, sickness and health, rub shoulders in the 
motley crowd, and many are the appeals for charity. 
Fine turnouts roll by, but only occasionally are the 
famous runners seen who used always to run ahead of 
the carriage with a long wand to clear a way through the 
crowded thoroughfares. With the changes of the 
passing years old customs are passing. There are the 
picturesque venders of drinks, water and a kind of 
lemonade, who beat some small brass discs together 
and thus call attention to their wares, which they pour 
from one or another of the brass jars they carry. 

The beautiful Esbekieh gardens are opposite the 
hotel, and give a fine open view and plenty of light and 
air. The different costumes are very interesting, and 
the Egyptian fez is much worn, and most visiting men 
do not think their shopping complete until they possess 
a fez to carry home. 

Some of the dragomen have very handsome costumes, 
and are dignified, courteous, and well-informed on 
Egyptian history. The dragoman you employ is likely 
to bring you violets or roses when he greets you in the 
morning, and seems much delighted if. at the end of a 
day passed under his guidance, you express your satis- 
faction in the enjoyment you have had. Of course the 



Over the Sea. 63 

money is what they want, but they are also made still 
happier if appreciation accompanies the money. 

But some things you cannot see from the hotel piazza, 
for Cairo and its suburbs abound with objects of great 
interest. A drive through old Cairo, with its narrow 
crooked passage ways and swarms of inhabitants, will 
bring us to the oldest mosque in Egypt, containing a 
pillar from Mecca, and also two pillars which are quite 
close together, between which it is said that none but 
true Mohammedans can pass. When the youngest 
member of our party passed between them he was hailed 
at once as a brother and a true Mohammedan by our 
dragoman. 

Not far away is the island of Rhoda, where Moses is 
said to have been found by Pharoah's daughter. 
We went across in a queer old ferry-boat, and 
also saw there an old Nilometer. The old Coptic 
church was built about 600 A. D., ! but the crypt 
much longer ago, and it was in the crypt that 
Joseph and Mary are supposed to have rested with 
the infant Jesus when fleeing from Herod. Some 
of the priests are always in attendance, and services are 
now held three times a week. The inner sanctuary was 
very crude and plain. The Copts were the first Egyp- 
tian Christians. 

The Khedive lives outside the city, coming into the 



64 Over the Sea. 

EChedivial office three times a week to transact the gov- 
ernment business. He lias but one wife, and has a very 
pleasant face. We met him on one of our drives. He 
seems to be well-liked by his people, but with England's 
power' behind the throne, and the Sultan, who also tells 
him what to do, he surely cannot be a very independent 
ruler. 

At the Tombs of the Caliphs, or city of the dead, is a 
very beautiful Khedivial tomb which holds the sarcopha- 
gi of the father and grandmother of the present ruler, 
but the grounds about it are sadly neglected, and are 
almost as bare as the desert. The Mosque of Mo- 
hammed Ali, on the heights, is made of pure alabaster, 
carpeted with costly rugs, has beautiful colored windows, 
and 1,400 electric lamps, in crystal chandeliers, in large 
circles, up in the galleries, and in various arrangements, 
to light up its beauties. But neither unbelievers nor 
women are allowed to enter at any service. From the 
parapet of the citadel nearby a wonderful view of Cairo 
and its suburbs can be had. The older Mosque of Sul- 
tan Ahmid, at the foot of the hill, was entirely built of 
sandstone taken from the Pyramids. In all the mosques 
we visited we were obliged to have immense slippers tied 
on over our boots before we could enter. The Mosque 
of Sultan Hassan is of Arabian Byzantine architecture, 
has stalactite ornamentation, and the highest minaret 



Over the Sea. 65 

in Cairo, 280 feet high. ■ Originally it had a 
second minaret, but that was destroyed by an earth- 
quake in 1385, and in its fall killed 300 people who were 
worshiping there, it being the Sabbath (Friday). 

Our dragoman is a full-blooded Arabian, and his de- 
scription of the Mohammedan religion was interesting. 
The Arabs were the original Mohammedans, but now 
there are man}- converts from other races. The Mosque 
of el-Azhar, founded 973 A. D., is now also used as a uni- 
versity, and is the headquarters of the Mohammedan 
fanaticism. The Arabic language, religious science, 
and jurisprudence are taught here, and the students re- 
main from two to six years. When studying they rock 
back and forth and mutter their lessons, but should a 
visitor laugh at them he might be roughly handled, for 
they have a great dislike for foreigners. 

We drove out to Heliopolis, or rather to its site, 
and viewed the ancient obelisk. This was the site of the 
Sun Temple of old Egypt. On the way back a big 
ostrich farm was visited, which has 1,400 ostriches, rang- 
ing in age from two weeks to twenty years. By car- 
riage, train, and donkey, and in the case of the two 
younger members of the partv, by camel, we reached 
the Pyramids of Gizeh, called Khufu, Khafra, and Men- 
kaura. Khufu, more frequently spoken of as Cheops, 
is the only one that can be climbed, and it is such a hard 



66 Over the Sea. 

task, as is also entering Cheops, that none of our party 
attempted either, but we contented ourselves with riding 
around it, viewing the wonderful Sphinx, supposed to 
have been built long before the Pyramids, which were 
built about 4700 B. C. Cheops is about 451 feet high 
and 750 feet long at each base, and covers thirteen acres. 

The Sphinx has a lion's body and the head of a man. 
The fore part of the body below the head and shoulders 
was made up of masonry. The rear part, hewn from 
stone, is nearly covered with the drifting sand, and it is 
difficult to keep the head and shoulders in view for the 
same reason. The height is sixty-six feet. Fanatics 
and the Mamelukes mutilated the face, but enough is left 
to show that the general expression was serene and dig- 
nified. Besides the Pyramids and Sphinx there are 
some tombs and a small temple nearby, but they are not 
of great interest. 

The Egyptian Museum has such a wealth of antiqui- 
ties that no one but a thoroughly posted archaeologist 
could begin to do its contents justice. The mummies 
of the old kings, who have been dead for thirty cen- 
turies, impressed me the must. Among them Ramses 
II., conqueror, builder, and maker of history; Seti I., 
also builder of magnificent temples; and Merenptah, the 
Pharaoh who oppressed the Israelites, all lying in their 
coffins, and we of this twentieth century, A. D., gazing at 



Over the Sea. 67 

them as they lay there, with peacefully-folded hands! 
The war chariot of one of the Pharaohs also impressed 
ns with its great age and the part it probably took in 
great historical events. Funeral boats, 3500 B. C, 
amulets, jewels, statues, and gods were seen in this 
grand storehouse of antiquities. 

The Zoological gardens, the vegetable gardens in the 
suburbs, the grain markets on the bank of the Nile, 
where the boats unload, and also the "Mouski," the main 
thoroughfare of the shopping district, with its many side 
passageways lined with all sorts of attractive Egyptian 
wares have all been enjoyed, and we have taken tea at 
Shepheard's, which is the older hotel, but not as well 
situated as the Grand Continental. Happy will be our 
memories of Egypt, and now we go to Alexandria to- 
morrow, to go on board the Moltke^ and depart for the 
Holv Land, the Mecca of the Christian. 





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flu tbe t>olv? Xanfc. 

On the Moltke, en route to Constantinople, 
March 18, 1908. 

Our long-anticipated visit to Jerusalem is a past ex- 
perience, and now I must write of our visit to the Holy 
City. Our landing at its seaport, Jaffa, was much bet- 
ter than had been anticipated, as it is a rocky shore, 
and on very many days it is impossible to make a safe 
landing. 

The railroad journey of sixty miles is full of enjoy- 
ment. Jaffa's oranges are world-famed, and its orange 
groves, with their load of golden fruit, were a beautiful 
sight. The flowers are also wonderful, and the red 
anemone, the pink cyclamen, the white rose of Sharon, 
the daisies and buttercups, besides other blue, pink, yel- 
low, and white flowers of unknown names and varieties, 
scattered among the tender fresh-grown grass and grain, 
made a beautiful carpet for the landscape. The red 
anemone is supposed to have been the lily of the field 
referred to in the Bible. A red poppy, much like the 
anemone, comes a little later. The fig-trees are just 
beginning to leaf out, and grape vines, which are allowed 



70 Over the Sea. 

here to run on the ground, as yet are without leaves, 
but the almond and plum-trees are in blossom. The 
land seems very fertile but full of rocks and stones. 
Much grain is raised here, barley and wheat principally. 
but what they call barley looks like our oats. 

The low hills of the .shore gradually increased in size 
to mountains as we approached Jerusalem. Mam- 
places of Bible interest were pointed out, notably the 
site of the old village where Samson caught the 300 
foxes, tied torches to their tails and let them loose 
among the Philistines to destroy their homes and crops. 
Then we came to the Plain of Sharon, which was the 
home of the Philistines, and the village of Beit Dagon. 
built on the old site of the home of Dagon, the god of 
the Philistines. ( 

Our first stop after leaving Jaffa was Ramleh, origi- 
nally Anmathea, home of the Joseph in whose tomb 
Christ was placed. Farther along we saw the site of the 
house and land given by Pharoah to Solomon as a 
dowry for his daughter, when Solomon married her. 
Then we came to Sejed with its extensive wheat fields. 
The native flour is used commonly by the people, but for 
finer baking those who can afford it buy the Russian 
Hour. Zorah is on the site of Samson's birthplace, and 
Bethshemiah is on the site of the place to which the ark 
of the covenant was brought by David, and the story 



Over the Sea. vl 

goes that after being forbidden to look at the sacred 
ark 56,000 men disobeyed and were slain. Bittir marks 
the site of the last stronghold of the Jews against the 
Romans, and during the three and a half years' siege 
600,000 Jews were slain. The site of Philip's fountain, 
where he baptized the eunuch, was passed. Quails and 
partridges abound in the country, and leopards are oc- 
casionally killed. 

Now we are approaching the Holy City, and even the 
first view does not disappoint us. It is a large, imposing 
city, with its walls, gates, and towers, its minarets and 
spires, the large domes of the Church of the Holy 
Sepulchre and of the Mosque of Omar; its gray build- 
ings and their red roofs ; the gold-domed Russian 
church at the foot of the Mount of Olives, and the high 
minaret of another Russian church pointing heavenward 
on the summit of the same much-loved mountain. So 
many of the Bible-famed localities are now pointed out 
that we almost feel that we are dreaming instead of 
actually beholding the vallev of Jehoshaphat and 
Kedron, the plains and hills of Judea, the Dead sea. 
stretching along like a river for forty-seven miles, 
varying in width from four to six miles, in its deepest 
places 1,300 feet deep, and the same distance below the 
level of the sea, making it the greatest depression on the 
world's surface. 




RIVER JORDAN. 



Over flic Sea. 73 

Toi an American naval engineer by the name of Lynch 
is due the credit of making the only accurate survey ol 
the Dead sea. 

A line of trees in the distance is pointed out as being 
on the banks of the Jordan, and far beyond rise the 
mountains of Afoab, with Alt. Nebo and Aft. Pisgah as 
their highest points, and still farther away are the moun- 
tains of Gilead. Farther to the northwest is Aft. Miz- 
pah, where Samuel was brought up by Eli and where he 
was buried. It was also there that Saul was crowned 
king. And near the Mount of Olives is Aft. Scopus, 
where Titus encamped before the city of Jerusalem. 

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is held by the 
Greeks, Romans, Armenians, and Copts, who each have 
their own part in which to worship, and at the most 
sacred shrines each has precious lamps burning. 
Afohammedan soldiers guard the place and keep peace 
among the Christians. At night when the Holy Church 
is locked it is the Afohammedans who hold the key. A 
strange state of affairs, but past experiences have shown 
the necessity of a disinterested umpire. The following 
sacred places are shown within the walls of the church : 
The stone of Unction, on which Christ's body was pre- 
pared for burial ; the station of the Virgin ; chapel of the 
Angel ; well of the Empress Helena, who found the true 
cross (she was the Christian mother of Emperor Con- 



$ i Omr ihc Hen. 

stantine) ; place where Christ appeared to Mary ; station 
of Mary ; place of the finding of the true cross ; pillar of 
the Flagellation; prison of Christ; the altar and chair 
ol Helena; place of the cross on Golgotha; the rent in 
the rock caused by the earthquake when Christ was 
crucified ; the tomb of Melchisedek ; the chapel of Adam, 
and the tombs of Godfrey and Baldwin, early kings of 
Jerusalem. 

One needs to rise above some of the gaudy decora- 
tions and the doubts as to the exact location of the va- 
rious sacred spots, in order to accept the spirit of the 
attempted preservation and the holding' in sacred re- 
membrance the Christ whose influence and teachings 
are the guiding power of the Christian world. The 
hills of Jerusalem, .Mount of Olives, the hills of Judea, 
the Jordan, the Dead sea, and surrounding country all 
remain much as when Christ was on earth and although 
many sieges and upheavals brought destruction on the 
works of man, so that only here and there are portions 
of the walls and fragments of the buildings of the old 
Jerusalem, yet the location is the same, and the place 
and vicinity are made sacred by its being the country 
in which Christ lived, taught, and died to bring to all 
men God's love and immortality. With that thought 
in mind one's ideals do not suffer by a visit to Jerusalem, 



Over the Sea. 75 

but the Bible and Christ's life and teachings mean more 
than ever before after having visited it. 

In driving up to the Mount of ( Hives a fine view of the 
city is obtained; and there by the Russian church is the 
stone believed by the Greek Catholics to be the place 
from which Christ ascended to heaven. The Russians 
also have a sacred stone said to he the Stone of Ascen- 
sion. In the Judean valley beyond is the blue-domed 
mosque, marking the spot where Martha and Mary used 
to meet Christ. And not far away is the little village 
of Pethpage, from which Christ rode to Jerusalem on 
making his entry when Palm Sunday was inaugurated. 
Off at the right is the round hill where is Herod's tomb. 

The garden of Gethsemane is now kept by the Fran- 
ciscan monks as a beautiful flower garden, containing 
four original olive trees, and surrounded by shrines illus- 
trating the various stations of the cross. Christ's 
progress from Pilate's judgment hall to Calvary. The 
monk who was on duty gave us sprays from the old 
olive trees and from the rosemary hedge, and kindly al- 
lowed us to gather violets from beneath one of the old- 
est olive trees, supposed to have been in the garden in 
Christ's life-time. The sermon on the mount and 
Christ's agon}- in the garden now mean more to me 
than ever before. 

The Tombs of the Kings, Via Dolorosa, the wailing 



Over the Sea. 77 

place of the Jews, the chapel of the Carmelite nuns, on 
the panels of whose cloister is inscribed the Lord's 
prayer in thirty-five languages, also where the sisters 
are not allowed to converse but one day in the year, ex- 
cepting to say to each other when they meet, "Re- 
member death"; Solomon's stables, the pools of Siloam 
and Bethesda, the tombs of Absalom, of Zachariah, St. 
James, and the Virgin were also visited ; also Mt. Zion 
and the Field of Blood. Between the stones of the wall 
of the wailing place of the Jews many nails are crowded 
in leaving only the heads in sight. These are so placed 
by Jews who are leaving Jerusalem, in the belief that by 
so doing* the}- leave an influence behind them which will 
ensure their return. 

The Mosque of Omar was built by Kalif Omar, but 
was partly destroyed again and again, and its principal 
decorations are now of the sixteenth century. It is built 
on the site of Solomon's temple, and contains the rock 
which was the altar of sacrifice, and is the Mt. Moriah of 
the Bible. Its interior is handsome, but not as beauti- 
ful as the Alabaster Mosque at Cairo. In the temple 
enclosure is also the Mosque el Aksa, supposed to have 
been built by Justinian the Great, and to have been 
originally dedicated to the Virgin, ddie structure is 
there, but has been added to by the Moslems, so that the 




MOSQUE OF OMAR, JERUSALEM, 



Over the Sea. 79 

old outline is destroyed. Solomon's stables are under 
the mosque. 

In the enclosure of the [Mosque el Aksa is a large 
stone font with a rude Maltese cross carved upon the 
inside, in which- font the Ancient Knights of St. John 
used to christen their children. 

A drive to Bethlehem, passing Rachel's tomb, the well 
of the Magi and David's well, and having arrived at the 
little town, a visit to the Church of the Nativity, filled 
our last afternoon. The village was disappointing, be- 
ing dirt)' and full of beggars. But the basilica of Con- 
stantine. particularly the oldest part, is very interesting, 
as it is the only basilica in Palestine which survives the 
many raids. It was built in 333 A. 1). It has been 
added to and is now carried on by Greek Orthodox and 
the Roman Catholics, each in its own part. A Greek 
Orthodox service was being carried on when we were 
there, and they chanted and used candles and incense. 
We went into the Grotto of the Nativity and beheld the 
supposed place of Christ's birth, a portion of the sup- 
posed manger, the chapel of St. Jerome, and several 
other shrines. A short walk brought us to the top of 
a hill, where we got a fine view of the valley of Judea, 
the fields of Boaz, the Judean hills, and the surrounding 
country, but not as extended a view as can be enjoyed 
from the Mount of Olives. 



SO Over the Sea. 

I must not forget to tell you of the interesting walk 
we had through the narrow business streets of Jerusa- 
lem under the guidance of our host, the proprietor of 
Alt. ( )livet House. There we saw great varieties of 
fruits, vegetables, cheese, butter, meats decorated with 
tinsel and artificial flowers, sweet-meats in process of 
manufacture and ready for sale, and puff-paste, the 
flakiest I ever saw. It was made short with olive oil, 
rolled only a little with the rolling-pin, and then enlarged 
and made of more and more delicate thinness by skilful 
whirling and tossing with the hands. When the desired 
size was reached a kind of curd cheese was folded into 
the centre of a square, with the corners of the pastry 
meeting in the centre. This when baked was again 
sprinkled with the olive oil while still very hot, then it 
was ready for sale. The native butter is made from 
goat's milk, looks like mashed potato, and is not very 
healthy to eat. 

Another verv interesting process to watch is the 
measuring of grain. It is always done by the purchaser, 
and is a practical and literal illustration of the Biblical 
description, "shaken together, pressed down, and run- 
ning over." Thev become very skilful in emptying a 
much-heaped measure full into the waiting bag. 

The pool of Hezekiah in the midst of the city is used 
for baths, but is so muddy and impure from drainage 



Over the Sea. 81 

that it does not seem fit for any use. The Golden Gate 
on the site of the one through which Christ rode into 
the city was walled up by the Mohammedans, as their 
prophecies told them that a Christian conqueror would 
come from the East, and that is the eastern gate. 

Soon after leaving Jerusalem we passed the site of 
Gezer, where they are excavating and finding many very 
ancient treasures. Jt seems that seven cities have been 
built one on top of another in the many centuries that 
have passed. The engines on the railroad, with one ex- 
ception, were made at Philadelphia, United States, used 
by the French in their attempt to build the Panama 
canal, and now are doing service on the Jerusalem 
railroad. 

The delicious Jaffa oranges were again enjoyed on the 
train. Six hundred thousand boxes, 100 to 14 f in each 
box, are shipped each year to Liverpool. The cactus, 
so much used for fences, bears the so-called prickly pear, 
a very delicious fruit. 

The sea was comparatively quiet, so that we reached 
the Moltke safely, hut within an hour was so rough that 
landing would have been almost impossible. So with 
thankful hearts and memories of a delightful visit to the 
Holy Land, we are now on our way to Constantinople. 



Uhc Cit£ WLbcvc iDoos IReicm. 

Steamship Moltke, bound for Greece, 
March 21, 1908, 

Leaving' the Holy Land behind us, we steamed in a 
northwesterly direction through the bine waters of the 
Mediterranean, until we entered the Aegean Sea, passing 
many of its noted islands, among them Rhodes, Tenedos, 
Samos, Khios, and Mitylehe and having a fine view of 
historic Mt. Ida, whose snowy cap was very beautiful in 
the morning sunshine. 

At the entrance to the Dardanelles, which was the 
ancient Hellespont, stand the fortifications of Europe on 
the left, and of Asia on the right, and it gave me a pe- 
culiar feeling to stand facing the bow of the Moltke and 
gaze upon a part of two continents at the same time. It 
recalled the fact that in the first six weeks of our trip we 
beheld parts of four continents, viz. : America, Europe, 
Asia, and Africa. Near the fortifications we were met 
by the quarantine officials, who, after interviewing the 
doctor and purser, satisfied themselves that health con- 
ditions on board were all right, and that our mission was 
a peaceful one, and allowed us to go on our way. The 



Over the Sea. N.-> 

shores of the Dardanelles were very pleasing, and sail- 
ing through the Sea of Marmora we came to anchor near 
the great city of Constantinople, too late to land that 
night, hut not too late to see the weird beauty of domes, 
minarets, towers, palaces, dwellings, and water in the 
clear moonlight. 

When we landed next morning passports were sup- 
posed to he collected by the Turkish officials, but sev- 
eral passengers landed and were not asked for passports. 
Then we went back and forth from ship to city for three 
days, unchallenged, and the Turks retained the pass- 
ports until the close of the third day. Had we been ar- 
rested or got into trouble of any kind while in the citv, 
we should have been unable to show any passport. We 
did carry a small American ilag, under which we could 
have demanded justice, and perhaps it would have been 
just as effectual as the written passport, for they have 
not yet forgotten the million dollars they were obliged 
to pay the United States for killing three American citi- 
zens during a massacre of Armenians some eight years 
ago. The Turks were given only twenty-four hours in 
which to pay the money, and the demand was backed up 
by the presence of United States warships in the harbor, 
whose guns and the men behind them the Turks feared, 
so the money was paid. 

"The sick man of Europe," as Turkey has been some- 



86 Over the Sea. 

times called, cannot take much comfort. Even its 
treasury is under foreign espionage, and England must 
have her six hundred pounds and Russia her two thou- 
sand pounds paid every week before Turkey can spend 
any of its own income. And there float the poor war- 
ships in the entrance to the Bosphorus, forbidden by 
Russia to leave the waters until the enormous war debt 
is paid, and English and Russian warships enforce obe- 
dience. 

The Sultan sleeps in a bomb-proof room, with guards 
all about him. has all his food tested to make sure it is 
not poisoned, and requires some thousands of soldiers 
to line the streets and escort him to the Mosque when 
he attends it on- Friday, the Mohammedan Sabbath. 
Turkish soldiers are supposed to receive five shillings 
a month, but seldom get any money. Occasionally 
they have a little extra coffee or corn or rice given them, 
and this they sell at various dwellings to raise a little 
money. The soldiers, sent to" the Royal Tombs by the 
Sultan to keep infidels away, not being paid by him, and 
finding visiting infidels willing to pay for seeing the 
Tombs, pocket the fees and admit the infidels. "Con- 
stantinople has a Palace of Justice," remarked our guide, 
who was a Greek by birth, "but there is no justice." 

Now what are my impressions of this great Turkish 
city? First, the very penetrating quality of its rainy 



Over the Sea. 87 

March days, when the winds blow from the Black Sea, 
and yon wonder the fruit trees dare to blossom, and it 
is hard to believe that in another month the hills will he 
covered with beautiful wild flowers, and you wear all 
the clothes you can put on and still feel cold. We gen- 
erally remember our discomforts better than our joys, 
so the next in memory will be the terrible shaking up 
we experienced in riding" through its illy-paved streets 
in its rattling carriages, which are not blessed with rub- 
ber tires. Next the mud through which we waded when 
we had to walk will come to mind, associated with which 
will be visions of dogs in countless multitudes, which 
you must step around and never disturb, for was it not 
the barking" of the watchful dogs which in the far-awav 
past of the city saved it from capture by their timely 
warning? Most fortunate blessing the dogs are to-day, 
for at night they act as scavengers, and eat all the refuse, 
spending" their clays mostly in undisturbed rest. It is no 
unusual sight to see a rough box, with a little straw for 
a bed, placed on the sidewalk, and occupied by a mother 
and her litter of puppies. They are mostly yellow curs 
without name or home or special care, yet none must 
be killed. 

There are for the happier memory pictures, stately 
palaces and handsome dwellings, fine bank and other 
buildings, extensive barracks, several large hotels, nota- 




STREET SCENE, CONSTANTINOPLE. 



Over the Sea. 89 

bly the handsome Pera Palace hotel, the grand bazaars 
in Stambonl, where some six thousand stores of all 
sizes and kinds are grouped together, in various con- 
necting arcades, paying the government which owns 
them thirty thousand pounds a year rental, the various 
rents being, of course, graded by the size and kind of 
store. The embassies are hue buildings mostly, notably 
that of the Germans. The English ambassador. Sir R. 
Nicholas O'Connor, died while we were there, and all 
honor was being paid in flags at half-mast and borders 
of black on the newspapers which told of his life and ser- 
vices. 

Stambonl embraces the old part of the city, and it is 
there that the most noted mosques are situated, notably 
the Mosque of St. Sophia, with its four minarets, and the 
Mosque of Ahmed, with its six minarets. The Mosque 
of St. Sophia, erected in 532 A. D. by Justinian as a 
Christian temple, was built of all kinds of beautiful ma- 
terial, including ivory, cedar, gold, silver, precious 
stones, and the rarest marbles ; columns of porphyry 
from the Temple of the Sun at Baalbek, of white marble 
from the Temple of Minerva at Athens, the finest pillars 
from the Temple of Diana of Ephesus, and granite 
columns from the shrines of Isis and Osiris in Egypt. 
The altars, bishops' chairs, crosses, and crucifixes were 
all made of silver or gold, the ceiling was of golden 



90 Over (he Sea. 

mosaics, doors inlaid with ivory, amber, and silver, 
sacred paintings on the walls — in fact, everything done 
to make St. Sophia the most glorious temple for the 
worship of God in the world. But in L453 A. D. Mo- 
hammed II., Sultan of Asiatic Turkey, captured Con- 
stantinople, made it the capital of his empire, tore down 
the cross of the Christian, and raised the crescent of the 
Moslem, despoiling beautiful St. Sophia, leaving it only 
a wreck of what it was. Yet here and there some Chris- 
tian emblems appear, in mute testimony that Christianity 
was once in power there. 

The Most pie of Ahmed is very beautiful with its blue 
and white tilings, immense domes, and its six slender 
minarets. The Koran commands that the clothes and 
person of a worshiper must be clean and the face turned 
toward Mecca when he prays, so every mosque is pro- 
vided with accommodation for many to wash at once, 
near the entrance, head and face, arms to the elbows, 
and feet to the ankles, being carefully washed before they 
obey the Muezzin's call to prayer, which is given five 
times a day from the balcony of the minarets, to the 
north, south, east, and west. It is very impressive to 
hear that penetrating voice rising above the other 
street sounds. 

The Mosque of the Pigeons has multitudes of pigeons 
living in its open enclosures that are fed and cared for, 



Over the Sea. 91 

but they arc not tame like the cloves of Venice. The 
remnant of open land formerly occupied by the Hippo- 
drome contains the obelisk brought from Heliopolis by 
TheodosiiiSj the serpentine pillar from Delphi 3000 B. C, 
and a stone pyramid formerly covered with bronze, about 
son years old. The water fountain built by the present 
emperor of Germany and another by one of the sultans 
are elaborate buildings. The Museum of the Janis- 
saries, with its fourteen groups of effigies in the cos- 
tume and illustrating life and customs during their ex- 
istence, was very unique. The Museum of Antiquities 
has the most wonderful collection of magnificently- 
carved sarcophagi, twenty-one of which have been dis- 
covered in Sidon, Syria, and brought from there in the 
last twenty or thirty years. Some are of black, others 
of Parian, and of other varieties of marble, and were the 
final resting places of kings of ancient Syria, who died 
thousands of years ago. In a way it is pathetic to see 
them open to the public gaze in a strange land. 

On Friday we saw the imperial troops as they went 
to escort the Sultan to the Mosque. It is not possible 
to see the Sultan enter the Mosque, excepting by a long- 
process of application requiring some eight days, so we 
did not see him, and there was not the regret we should 
have felt were he a kind, beneficent ruler of his people. 
On the Asiatic side of the city is Scutari, where are the 




COLUMN OF CONSTANT1NE, CONSTANTINOPLE. 



Over the Sea. 93 

military barracks and the military hospital, where Flor- 
ence Nightingale rendered such glorious service in nurs- 
ing" the soldiers in the war with Russia some fifty years 
ago, and many other buildings and dwellings. 

Galata-Pera and Seraglio Point have many beautiful 
buildings, and along the shores of the Bosphorous, as 
we sailed up into the Black Sea, are beautiful palaces and 
summer residences of wealthy people. Here, too, is 
Roberts College, an American college, doing a grand 
work in educating the young, having nearly five hundred 
students. We had been favored with a call on the 
steamer from Professor Anderson, and an invitation to 
take tea in his home, which was much enjoyed, and when 
the Moltke passed the college the stars and stripes were 
raised, the students in line on the terrace cheered, and 
the band played the "Star-Spangled Banner/' in honor 
of the American cruisers. Turning around shortly 
after entering the cold, forbidding, rolling Black Sea, we 
retraced our way to Constantinople, and on to our next 
port, Piraeus, the port of Athens. We had only seen a 
part of the places of interest, yet were satisfied. The 
mam- mythological and historical legends come to 
mind, but the steamer is now stopping, and I must close 
this letter and prepare to land. 



f n Ifoistoric Btbens, ano ©tber Glimpses of 
Greece ano Sicily. 

En Route to Messina, 
March 26, 1908. 

( )ur visit to Greece has been a great pleasure in spite 
of had weather. We have had just a glimpse of its 
grand mountain scenery, the great historic landmarks, 
its capital city and the port, its well cultivated fields, the 
industry, quiet ways and greater intelligence of its peo- 
ple in contrast with the noisy, quarrelsome Orientals so 
recently encountered, and we hope sometime to have a 
more extended stay in this very delightful country. 

After Athens was freed from the rule of the Persians 
its port was established at Piraeus, five miles away, and it 
was there we landed, took an electric train, and were 
soon driving through Athens' streets, so clean and 
quiet, yet busy, on our way to the world-famed 
Acropolis and the other near-by ruins. The Theatre of 
Dionysus was first visited. It was an open theatre, and 
would contain 30,000 people. It was the centre of dra- 
matic art, and the masterpieces of Euripides, Aeschylus^ 



Over the Sea. 95 

Sophocles, and Aristophanes were heard here. The 
marble seats of the high dignitaries are well preserved, 
and some of them hear the name of the occupant carved 
on the lower part. There are some finely carved figures 
still in a fairly good state of preservation, considering 
that it was built about 340 B. C. It is called the cradle 
of' the Greek drama, and lies within the enclosure of the 
Temple of Bacchus. 1 

The theatre of Odeion, built by Herodes Atticus in 
161 A, 1)., in memory of his wife, Appia Annia Regilla, 
near the base of the Acropolis, (was intended for the 
production of musical compositions, but is supposed 
to have been also used for dramatic performances. It 
held 6,000 people, and originally had a cedar roof, which 
was long ago burned. 

Athens' crowning glory, the Acropolis, with its grand 
ruins of past grandeur, was next visited. The limestone 
hill was prepared for the world-famed temples built 
upon it by having the top leveled, the lower part filled in, 
and retaining walls built, in certain places, so that it 
made a plateau 200 feet high, 1,100 feet long, and 450 
feet wide. The outer wall is now nearly perpendicu- 
lar, except at the southwest corner, where approaches 
were built. The Propylaea, the Temple of Athena Nike, 
the Parthenon, the Erectheum, with its celebrated 
portico of the maidens, or, as it is more generally called, 



Over the Sea. 97 

the porch of the Caryatides, where the roof is borne by 
six figures of maidens, whose grace and beauty are re- 
nowned in the world of art, all were as much admired as 
a cold, windy, rainy day would allow. There, too, were 
the foundations of the wonderful statues of Agrippa, the 
Athena Promachos, and in the interior of the Parthenon 
once stood its crowning glory, the magnificent statue of 
the goddess Athena Parthenos, fort}' feet high, made of 
ivory and gold. 

The Parthenon was opened as a Greek place of wor- 
ship of idols in 438 B. C. ; then in the fifth century A. D. 
it was used as a Christian church, and in 1460 the Turks 
changed it into a Moslem place of worship. In the 
year of 1687 the Turks, then in power, used the Parthe- 
non for a powder magazine. The Venetians., besieging 
Athens, in bombarding the city, sent a shell into the 
Parthenon, and in an instant the most magnificent 
ancient structure lay shattered in ruins. There is a 
small museum on the Acropolis containing some inter- 
esting relics. A fine view of the city can be had from 
this place, and nearby is Mars hill, on which it is sup- 
posed that St. Paul stood when he delivered his famous 
address, commencing "Ye Men of Athens." 

Idie Arch of Hadrian, the Temple of Jupiter, the 
Temple of Theseus, all were most wonderful ruins, and 
our well-informed guide gave us very interesting his- 



98 O.ver the Sea. 

tories of each ruin. But it was very pleasant to see the 
beautiful Stadium, where they have the great athletic 
contests which interest the entire world. It was 
originally laid out by Lykurgos, 300 1!. C, renewed in 
white marble by Herodes Atticus, L40 A. 1).. and now 
recently restored in spotless white marble l>v M. Averos, 
a wealthy Greek. Pedestals are in place and statues 
are to be placed on them, rising above the last tier of 
seats, and a grand marble entrance will soon re- 
place the present temporary one. It is altogether very 
beautiful and Athenians may well be proud of it. 

The King's palace is very plain on the outside, but is 
very richly furnished, and has beautiful gardens. The 
King's body guard are most wonderfully uniformed. 
They come from the mountainous districts of Greece, 
and retain their native costume, which is a mixture of 
ballet skirts. Zouave jacket, white stockings, long shoes 
with black pompons on an extension toe, which flops up 
and down when they walk, and a fancv cap with heavy 
tassel. The King is a Protestant, and the Queen a 
Catholic. The principal cathedral has some verv elabo- 
rate eikons, and other usual cathedral adornments. 

There are very many small, quaint chapels, always 
having bells, no matter how small. The University, 
Museums, and especially the National Museum, are very 
fine buildings. Among the very rich collections in the 



Over the Sea. 99 

i 

Museum the man\' treasures unearthed in the Royal 
Tombs at Mycaene by the great archaeologist, Dr. 
Schliemann, are easily the richest and most wonderful. 
The gold vase, used by Nestor and described by Homer, 
was most interesting to see. Beautiful carved 

sarcophagi, gold, and precious stone in various forms 
for personal adornment, beautiful cupids and other 
figures for room adornment, vases, magnificent statuary, 
all claimed our attention. Among the statuary were 
many pieces rescued from the bottom of the sea, near 
one of the Aegean Islands, and which must be over two 
thousand vears old. The most wonderful one was the 
figure of a youth made in black marble, and said to be 
a most perfect example of the great attention paid by 
those ancient sculptors to the perfection of detail in re- 
producing the human form, none of the modern sculp- 
tors comparing in anatomical detail with those of the 
ancient days. 

Mt. Lycabettus. with its lofty pointed summit crowned 
with the white chapel of St. George, is a striking" part of 
the landscape, and in driving around it we passed the 
site of Sophocles' birthplace, and near the foot of the 
Acropolis are some rocky caves, with iron gratings for 
doors, in one of which Socrates was said to have been 
imprisoned just before he was made to drink of the 
poison hemlock, 



100 Over the Sea. 

Altogether Athens has proved a most interesting, de- 
lightful city, and we should have been glad to have had 
an opportunity to have explored it 'more thoroughly. 
Steaming down to Kalamaki we had the pleasant experi- 
ence of going through the Corinthian canal in the ship's 
small boats, towed by a tug. The canal is about three 
miles long, the water twenty-six feet deep, and about 
one hundred feet wide. It is cut through a hill, part 
earth and part stone, and the sides rise nearly perpen- 
dicularlv in some places over one hundred and seventy 
feet. It is lighted by electricity and at night presents a 
handsome appearance. It is of great use to shipping, 
furnishing a short route from the Aegean Sea to the 
Bay of Corinth and the Mediterranean. 

Mycaene and Tiryns received a brief visit, and we had 
a most unique ride in primitive native carts to the Royal 
Tombs of the Kings, the scene of Dr. Schliemann's 
most wonderful discoveries, seeing the much-talked-of 
Gate of the Lions. At Tiryns there are the ruins of a 
very old castle, said to be the most ancient example of 
Cyclopean style of building. With regret we left 
Greece, and sailed away to Sicily, where Messina and 
Palermo were to be visited. Messina is a smart, bus- 
tling city on the straits of the same name, and we could 
look across at the Italian shore, in a southeasterly di- 
rection, and feel that we were really gazing at the "toe" 
of Italy. Driving through the busy streets from the 



Over the Sea. 101 

dock, we soon reached the railroad station, and took a 
train for Giordini, thirty miles away. We passed by 
very thrifty vegetable gardens, but most wonderful were 
the miles of lemon groves through which we traveled, 
all loaded with the noted Messina lemons. Every now 
and then a procession of women bearing baskets of 
lemons on their heads, which they had just picked, or a 
string of donkey carts loaded with the fruit packed in 
boxes ready for shipment to various parts of the world, 
would be seen on the highway From Giordini we 
drove three miles over a picturesque zigzag road, past 
grand villas, beautiful flower gardens and fruit orchards, 
ever higher, until we reached our destination, Taormina. 
We visited the interesting ruins of the Greek theatre, 
built 300 B. C, and finally reaching the Monastery of 
St. Domenico, now a hotel, enjoyed lunch and the won- 
derful view of mountains, including Mt. Etna, snow- 
capped, the fruitful valley below fertilized bv the lava 
dust from past eruptions, the blue sea. near the shore 
the tiny island of Isola Bella, on which the author of 
"The Call of the Blood" makes the principal character 
meet his death ; and not far away on a hill is the villa 
where the wife was represented as living. 

A drive down the zigzag road and the railroad trip 
through the fertile valley brought us to Messina again. 
We boarded the Moltke, and soon were on our way to 
Palermo. Palermo, sometimes called La Felice, on ac- 



102 Over the Sea. 

count of its fine location and climate, has several special 
points of interest, including the musty catacombs, with 
their succession of horrors in the shape of dried-up, pe- 
culiarly-preserved bodies hung up or sitting on shelves, 
or in glass coffins, gaily clothed and adorned. A brief 
look was sufficient, and it was a satisfaction to hear that 
that way of caring tor the dead is no longer permitted. 
Villa Tosca, a sort of experimental garden, with its 
beautiful trees, shrubs, and flowers, brushed away all 
the disagreeable impressions of the catacombs, and the 
drive to Mon Reale, the visit to its grand cathedral, with 
its beautiful mosaics and the Alhambra-styled cloisters 
and flower gardens, and to the Royal Palace of La 
Favorita, with its very richly-adorned chapel, were most 
enjoyable. The Italian chatter was really pleasing to 
our ears, for it recalled pleasant Italian experiences of 
our former visit, and brought thoughts of the present 
one so near at hand. ( )ur last evening on the Moltke 
was a gala one. marked by an elaborate captain's dinner 
and the presentation of a hue watch and chain to him 
by the passengers. The following morning we landed, 
with pleasant memories of all the wonders seen and ex- 
periences enjoyed of the L908 winter M editerranean 
cruise of the Moltke, and the visions of so much to be 
enjoyed in Naples, Rome, Florence, Venice, Verona, 
Milan, Lucerne, Paris, and London, while en route to 
Southampton, from which port we are to sail for home. 



Iftapies. 

The view of Naples, its bay and mountains, is truly 
a grand one, and a drive through the city onto the 
heights, and into the suburbs, best reveals the different 
characteristics of the place. The grand hotels on the 
shore and on the heights, the fascinating shops, the 
various cathedrals and large public buildings, the finely 
arranged and well-stocked Aquarium, and the better 
class of dwellings, constitute the imposing part of 
Naples. The fearful and wonderful Vesuvius and its 
neighboring mountains form the background of the pic- 
ture, and the beautiful bay, with its blue water spark- 
ling in the sunshine and quietly lapping the crescent- 
shaped shore, is the foreground. 

But most interesting of all is to watch the native 
Italian life in its various grades and conditions, with its 
many strange customs and peculiarities, so openly lived 
before the visitor's gaze. 

Many of the residents are dirty and repulsive, and 
their homes are the same. The beggars are certainly of 
the most deformed, maimed, and hideous class, and call 
to one's mind all of the dreadful possibilities of pur- 
posely causing the deformities and disability that pity 



Over the Sea 105 

and charity may be freely given. Family lives are lived 
right out on the sidewalk. Eating, drinking, washing, 
cooking, caring for babies, cobbling, and blaeksmithing 
are a few of the occupations. The clotheslines are fas- 
tened on the outside of the house, filled with the wash- 
ing, held out from the building by a clothes pole, and the 
pedestrian makes his way around the obstacle. The one 
room a family occupies has door and window wide open, 
and those of the family not on the sidewalk are inside, 
together with bed, cooking utensils, hens, dogs, and 
cats, with drying macaroni, tomatoes, peppers, and 
strings of onions hanging from the walls. 

Most unique of the sidewalk occupations is that of 
hair-dressing. It seems to be something in which these 
Italian women take great pride, and they dress each 
other's beautiful dusky hair in a really wonderful way, 
that might well excite the envy of a society belle. Some 
of the young girls are beautiful, but the} - seem to fade 
so quickly that most of the women are much older-look- 
ing than they very likely are. 

Another strange street scene is that of a cow with her 
calf tied to her by a rope, being driven from door to 
door and milked on the spot to supply the wants of the 
customers. It makes certain the delivery of unadul- 
terated milk, but gives opportunity, which is fully im- 
proved by the Italians, to haggle over the exact amount 



106 Over Hip Sea. 

which constitutes good measure. Sometimes the 
proffer of the called-for quantity in the glass or pitcher 
arouses such a storm of vehement protest from the cus- 
tomer that the cow again lias to give of her supply to 
ensure satisfaction. 

In buying rubbers to protect the boots from the heat 
of the lava in ascending Vesuvius, we had a unique ex- 
perience. Naturally we went to a shoe store to obtain 
them, but they were not to be bad there, and we were 
escorted to a near-by apothecary store, where we 
bought the needed articles under the name of goloshes. 
Evidently the Italians regard goloshes as a sort of pre- 
ventive medicine. The ascent of Vesuvius is extremely 
interesting, but when one remembers its recent erup- 
tions and the devastations and loss of life it has caused, 
it prevents one from feeling comfortably safe while try- 
ing the experiment. 

The traveler who dares the ascent goes by train or 
carriage to the small station, called Pugliano, and there 
takes a trollev electric car. The ride through the culti- 
vated zone of the mountain, by the vineyards where the 
grapes grow, from which the famous Lachrima Christi 
wine is made, past orchards and gardens filled with 
growing oranges, lemons, roses, and camellias, is de- 
lightful. Streaks of lava extend even into these gar- 
dens, and form a striking contrast to the green vegeta- 



) Over the Sea. ' [!■ • 107 

tion. During the ascent fine views are obtained of the 
surrounding country, Naples and the bay. 

At the generating station an electric locomotive hav- 
ing two motors of eighty-horse power each, is attached 
behind the car. and pushes it up the steeper grade, which 
has a rise of twenty-five per cent., and includes the 
ascent of Monte Cateroni. ( hi the third section the 
car again goes by the trolley power, as this and the 
first section have only a rise of eight per cent. Now 
the steep upper height is reached, and a funicular rail- 
road takes us up to within a short distance of the top of 
the cone, and seems nearly perpendicular. Alighting 
from this car a noisy crowd of guides surround you and 
offer their assistance in reaching the top of the crater. 
Perhaps you will try to climb unaided, but the loose 
lava footing and the altitude soon give one a wearied 
feeling, and you grasp the rope held out by the guide, 
and are pulled by him and pushed by another. A brief 
experience of that kind of help is sufficient, and you 
gladly seat yourself in one of the rude sedan chairs with 
which other guides have been following, and now as- 
cend as far as your courage will allow, either to a seem- 
ingly safer position a few rods below the smoke and sul- 
phurous fumes, or, if you are more daring, to the edge 
of the crater, where at times you will be lost to view in 
the clouds of vapor and smoke which give evidence that 



108 Over the Sea. 

there is something going on down below. Even a few 
rods below the extreme top of the volcano the heat is 
very noticeable beneath your feet; there are occasional 
rumblings and smothered explosions, and you fear that 
soon a stream of lava may overflow the summit, en- 
gulfing you in its terrible current. The guides, who 
have refreshed themselves with native wine, at your ex- 
pense, are summoned to carry you down to the funicular 
. railroad as quickly as possible. You have in your hands 
the coins which the guides have imbedded in new hot 
lava, not far away, for yon to carry home as souvenirs, 
and as you lurch about in the slipping and sliding of the 
guides while being carried down backwards in the chair, 
yon remember the appearance of camel-riders in circus 
parades ; but the predominating thought is to get as 
far away as possible, as quickly as possible, from this 
terrible power of destruction. The railroad reached, 
the clamoring horde surround yon, and you suddenly 
find over a dozen men who claim to have been of valu- 
able assistance in your trip up and down the cone. 
After dividing quite a sum among them, they will still 
want more, but fortunately the train now starts and 
bears yon away from them. While eating lunch at the 
Hermitage, by the observatory, you are still longing 
to be farther away from danger, and nothing short of a 
Sfoodlv number of miles will entirelv free one from the 



Over the Sea. 109 

terror which has taken such a powerful hold upon the 
mind. Yet the Italians yield to the attraction of the 
fertile fruit-hearing lower slopes of Vesuvius, and con- 
tinue to nestle their little villages there, in spite of the 
great loss of lives and homes caused by this volcano in 
the near and distant past. Familiarity truly breeds con- 
tempt of danger. 

The drive to Posillipo, a near-by suburb on the Medi- 
terranean shore, is a very delightful one. But the ideal 
trip is to go by train to Castellammare. remain over 
night at the comfortable Hotel Quisiana, enjoy the 
beautiful view across the bay, of Naples and Vesuvius, 
and in the evening, if the volcano is at all active, 
Nature's fireworks at a safe distance. 

In the morning, breakfast in the beautiful garden of 
the hotel, then drive over the wonderfully interesting 
road, winding around the promontories, the blue Medi- 
terranean below, until Sorrento is reached, and lunch en- 
joyed in that village, located so, high above, and having 
such a commanding view of sea and shore. In the 
afternoon an equally beautiful and romantic ride brings 
the traveler to Amain. Here the picturesque Hotel 
Capuccini is located high up on the side of the cliff. A 
climb up one hundred and ninety-three steps brings one 
to its doors, and a most interesting and comfortable 
hostelry it proves to be. This was formerly a Capuchin 



110 Over the Sea. 

Monastery, but sonic years ago the Italian government 
took possession, and it is now a prosperous hotel, al- 
though they have made as few alterations as possible. 
The large hall is used as a dining-room; the chapels 
and cloisters are unchanged ; the view is beautiful ; and 
the lapping sound of the waters of the Bay of Salerno 
as they wash up 011 the beach below is a soothing 
lullaby. After a good night's rest and a breakfast in the 
garden, a two-hours' drive brings yon to the little sta- 
tion of La Cava, and it is only a short railway journey 
to Pompeii, that silent, desolate city, with its roofless 
houses, many of them having fine wall decorations still 
well preserved, gardens re-filled with flowers, a few 
statues scattered here and there, temples, theatres, 
money-changers' shops, wine shops, bakeries, all having 
something in the way of urns, ovens, wine or other ves- 
sels that tell of their former use. The many stone 
watering troughs as well as the high stepping stones, 
provided for pedestrians to use in crossing the streets 
when they were being flushed, attest to the liberal water 
supply once enjoyed, and the depth of the chariot 
wheel ruts in the stone flagging of the streets is silent 
witness of the antiquity of the city, which with most 
of its inhabitants was destroyed by the eruption of Ve- 
suvius, 79 A. D. The most and best of the statues, 
utensils, and general contents of the buildings not de<- 



Over the Sea. Ill 

stroyed have been carried away to museums and to the 
Louvre, although the museum now arranged near the 
exit from Pompeii has sufficient to give quite an idea 
of metal utensils and adornments, and the bodies of 
men and dogs, bread and eggs, seem preserved in a 
wonderful way by the ashes in which they were buried 
for so many hundred years. As one stands by the inter- 
esting Temple of Isis there comes a vision of blind 
Nydia in "The Last Days of Pompeii" seeking guidance 
from the oracles of this temple, and the openings in the 
walls through which the priests, standing on the secret 
stairs, sent their voices into the stone oracles' mouths, 
bear mute testimony to the manner in which believers 
of that day were controlled by superstition. 

Idic baths, having a stone roof, are the best-preserved 
of any of the ruins, and are very interesting, indeed, a 
visit to Pompeii and a walk about its silent, deserted 
streets and among its roofless homes gives food for 
thought and imagination, and makes us thankful that 
we are living in a different age and location than did 
the ancient inhabitants of this dead city. 

We now return to Naples en route to Rome. 



1Rome. 

Rome, the Eternal City, has so much of great inter- 
est to the traveler, and there is such a wealth of beauty, 
historical, ecclesiastical, and political places and objects 
of interest, that in a limited stay only a small part can 
be seen. 

St. Peter's Cathedral and the Vatican, with their won- 
derful history and art treasures, are full of interest. St. 
Peter's is the largest church ever built. It replaces the 
first Basilica, built on the same site to commemorate the 
place of the martyrdom of many of the early Christians, 
and especially does it mark the resting place of the re- 
mains of St. Peter. The old Basilica was very small, 
and after it became almost a ruin in L450 Pope Nicho- 
las V. commissioned Alberti and Rossellini of Florence 
to rebuild it. After that Da Sangallo, Raphael, Fra 
Giocondo, and other artists worked upon it until their 
deaths, and finally. in L546, Michael Angelo, then seventy- 
two years old, reluctantly undertook the work, going 
back to the Greek cross shape, making new designs for 
the pillars of the dome, and the cupola was completed 
after his death by his plans, and became a triumph of 
architectural beautv. Bernini and other noted artists 



114 



Over the Sea. 



continued the work after Michael Angelo's death, and 
on November 18, 1626, 1,300 years after the founding' of 
the first basilica of St. Peter, Pope Urban VIII. conse- 
crated the new basilica. It has cost at least $50,000,000, 
and to keep it in repair $36,000 has to be expended 
yearly. They are still at work making' mosaic lettering" 
for parts of the walls above the columns, and it will take 
many years to complete what is now laid out. 

If Bunker Hill monument was placed under the dome 
there would be 1.58 feet of space between the top of the 
monument and the top of the dome. 

Man} - of its treasures and bronzes were taken from 
Pagan temples or unearthed in excavations. It is very 
interesting to note the turning of heathen gods into 
Christian images. The noted bronze statue of St. Peter 
seated on a white marble chair, in the act of blessing, 
was made in the fifth century from a bronze statue of 
Jupiter. The right foot, which is extended, has a big 
toe very much worn from the kisses that have been be- 
stowed upon it by the faithful during all these vears. 
There are several chapels, numerous altars and confes- 
sionals for all races, but practically no seats, the audi- 
ences either standing or kneeling. There are five doors 
to the church, one of which is of especial interest. It is 
called the Porto Santa, and is only opened once 
jn twenty-five years. It bears a metal cross 



Over I lie Sea. 



Ill 



on its surface, and is walled up when it is not 
the year for it to he opened. The door is com- 
posed of brickSj and each noble family is allowed 
to furnish a brick for this purpose bearing their 
name. When opened at Christmas of the quarter 
century year it remains open for twelve months. The 
opening- is a very impressive service. The door space 
having previously been cut around by a mason, the Pope 
himself comes to the outside and knocks three times, 
commanding the door to open, when the door slowly 
sinks into the church. The bricks which have been used 
to rill the space are returned to the respective families, 
who have them for holy souvenirs. Xew ones are pro- 
vided each time the door is closed. The belief is that 
every repentant sinner who enters tile church through 
that door during the year of grace has his sins forgiven. 
The interior distances are immense, and are difficult 
to realize. A pen in the hand of St. Luke in a wall 
fresco, 182 feet from the floor, looks to be about the 
length of an ordinary pen-holder, but in reality is seven 
feet long. The floor is inlaid with marbles in set de- 
signs. The large round slab of porphyry in the centre 
of the floor not very far in, is the one on which the 
emperors used to stand to be crowned, and in a line 
from that towards the great Papal altar are brass letters 
in the floor at given spaces indicating the length of other 



Over the Sea. 117 

large cathedrals, showing- how small they are compared 
with St. Peter's. 

Over the Papal altar, at which the Pope alone, or a 
cardinal especially authorized by him, can officiate, rises 
a great bronze and gold canopy supported by four spiral 
columns, also of bronze and gold, made in 1633. The 
bronze was taken from the ceiling of the Temple of 
Agrippa, now known as the Parthenon. The balustrade 
around the crypt, which is under this altar, and which 
contains the remains of St. Peter, is lighted by ninety- 
five gilt bronze lamps, always kept burning. A double 
flight of Grecian marble steps leads down to the crypt 
and at the bottom is a statue by Canova of Pins VI. The 
gilded bronze doors belonged to the ancient basilica. 
At the sides are four alabaster columns from Solomon's 
Temple, and above them are two agate pillars, with the 
statues of St. Peter and St. Paul. The niche that forms 
part of the oratory erected by St. Anacletus, on the 
tomb of St. Peter, is covered with precious marbles, lapis- 
lazuli, and alabaster. ( )ver the stone under which lie 
the apostle's remains is a gilt casket containing the 
collars, one of which the Pope sends to any bishop 
whom he may choose to appoint to be a cardinal. 

Around the sides of the church and chapels are the 
tombs of former Popes, some emperors, and three 
women — Christine, queen of Sweden, 1689, daughter 



118 Over the Sen. 

of Gtistavus Adolphus ; Countess Mathilde of Tuscany, 
111"); and Maria Clementina Sobieska, 1735-, wife of 
James til, of Austria, whose zeal in converting her peo- 
ple and her king to the Catholic faith was rewarded by 
the gift of a final resting place in St. Peter's. 

Most ol the tombs have magnificent statues and 
adornments by Michael Angelo, Canova, and other of 
the best sculptors of the various times, which were gifts 
either of the families or admirers of the occupant of the 
tomb. The spaces arc now so full that no more Popes 
can be permanently buried in the main church. The last 
Pope desired to be finally placed in a tomb in the 
mother church, St. John de Lateran, hut on account of 
the vexing question of either removing the remains se- 
cretly at night without public honors or having a large 
escort of soldiers and great display at a day-time re- 
moval, with the possibility of stirring up riots between 
church and populace, as happened at a former removal, 
his remains still rest in what was intended for a tempo- 
rary place of honor in St. Peter's. It is rumored that 
the present Pope has decided to be buried in the crypts 
below in St. Peter's, thus settling the vexed question, at 
least for the present. 

The pictures at the various altars are, with one ex- 
ception, mosaic reproductions of some of the most noted 
sacred masterpieces in the world. The Vatican has a 



Over the Sea. LI 9 

fine mosaic workshop of its own. The Tope's private 
chapel is very richly adorned, and it is here that the 
Pope enters the cathedral by his private staircase, lead- 
ing from the papal apartments in the Vatican. 

St. Peter's has four organs, two of which are on 
wheels, so as to he removed to the various chapels in 
the church. 

The dome has two shells, between which is a staircase 
leading to the hall above, which will hold sixteen per- 
sons at once. 

There is said to he quite a village of small houses on 
the roof of St. Peter's occupied by the custodians and 
workmen. 

The Vatican presents a most peculiar architecture 
when viewed from the square in front of St. Peter's. It 
looks like a mixed-up set of riat-roofed buildings, which 
seem to he shouldered on to each other in the strangest 
kind of a way. Put the interior is full of art, beauty, 
and interest. The grounds consist of fifty-two acres 
well laid out, and in going from the picture to the 
sculpture gallery you ride one mile in the Vatican 
grounds. All the art treasures, pictures, marbles, 
bronzes, and tapestries are among the best in the world. 
They are almost wholly sacred subjects, with a blending 
of the mythological. There are also some very beau- 
tiful and striking modern pictures. 




IX ROME 



Over the Sea 121 

En the Papal stables arc the grand state carriages, 
harnesses, and showy trappings used by former Popes 
when they really were the power behind the throne and 
went about the city in great state on certain days and 
occasions. Since the separation of church and state. 
the Popes have always remained within the Vatican 
boundaries, and the private apartments of the Pope arc 
few and simply furnished. But the vestments for the 
use of the High Church dignitaries are magnificent in- 
deed, many of them being gifts. A generous fee to the 
custodian procures the exhibition of wardrobes and 
drawers full of the magnificent robes of various colors, 
worked with silver and gold, with laces and em- 
broideries, some jewelled, beautiful beyond description, 
and of immense money value. There are also front and 
back pieces made of gold and precious stones which are 
placed on the Papal Altar when great state ceremonials 
are to take place in St. Peter's. 

The Sistine Chapel in the Vatican will always be of 
great interest to the world, not only for its great art 
treasure, "Michael Angelo's great fresco of "The Judg- 
ment Day," but for its use as the scene of the election of 
a new Pope, following the decease of the reigning Pope. 
From the chimney in the corner of the room rises the 
smoke so eagerly watched by the outside world. If the 
cardinals' vote has not resulted in an election the ballots 



L22 



Over the Sect. 



are burned and make only a white smoke. If an elec- 
tion has been obtained, wet straw is put on the burning 
ballots and the black smoke tells the waiting world that 
there is a new Pope, and as soon as the barriers can 
be removed winch seal in the conclave, and the new 
Pope has changed his Cardinal's robes for the Pope's 
robes, he appears in the Cathedral and gives the Papal 
blessing. ( )ne would think the Cardinal's lot by far 
the happier, for much freedom seems to be enjoyed, and 
they are often met driving or walking in the parks and 
suburbs in hue broughams with smartly-liveried coach- 
man and attendant in broadcloth and tall silk hat. 

The Colosseum is not as well preserved as the one at 
Verona, for besides the ravages of time, the Barbarini, 
Borghese, and other Papal families took away enough 
material to build rive palaces. Originally called the 
Flavian amphitheatre, it was begun by Vespasian, A. D. 
T'^, and dedicated by Titus. A. I). SO. It seated nearly 
100,000 spectators. Standing in the midst of this place 
many scenes described to us by history come to mind — 
gladiatorial and other combats, the turning of the victor 
to the populace for them to decide the fate of the van- 
quished, the turning down of their thumbs, meaning that 
his death was desired. What scenes of terrible perse- 
cution and execution of early Christians were here 
enacted! 



Over the Sea. L23 

The Capuccine Church has the strange crypts in 
which the monks are buried for ten years, then the 
bones are taken up and used in a most wonderful way 
to decorate the walls and ceilings of the crypt. 

The Church of St. John de Lateran is the mother 
church ot Rome, being one year older than St. Peter's, 
and was built between L362 and L370. The cloisters of 
the adjoining monaster}- are very beautiful twelfth- 
century work. 

Nearby is the Scala Santa, or holy stairs, said to have 
been brought from Pilate's house in Jerusalem by 
Queen Helena, the mother of Constantine in 326 A. D.. 
and to have been actually trodden by Christ. Devout 
pilgrims visit these sacred relics, going up on their 
knees, repeating prayers, which, as a bright-faced monk 
told us. are longer or shorter, according to the strength 
of their knees. 

The largest obelisk in the world, erected at Thebes 
by Thutmosis III.. L59? to 1660 B. C, brought to 
Rome in 35? by Constantius, was erected near St. John 
de Lateran in L588. 

The Pantheon, formerly the Temple of Agrippa, is the 
most perfect of the ancient Roman buildings. It was 
built by Agrippa, 2? B. C. and restored by Septimius 
Severus and Caracalla about A. D. 202. In 608 it was 
consecrated as a Christian church, but in IDS? it was 



124 



Over the Sea. 



used as a fortress by one of the rival Popes. It was re- 
stored in the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries, but 
the gilt bronze ceiling was removed to make the 
Baldacchino at St. Peter's, and cannon for Castle 
Angelo. The outside bronze of the dome was stolen by 
the Saracens, but while carrying it to their land the ship 
foundered, and that bronze is at the bottom of the Medi- 
terranean. Benedict XIV. carried off much precious 
marble to adorn other buildings, but the ancient bronze 
doors yet remain. In the centre of the top of the dome 
is a circular [opening thirty feet in diameter, through 
which all the light comes, and which is always open alike 
to sun and rain. 'Idle original marble floor remain? 
through which drains any water that may come in. 
Raffael, Caracci, and King Victor Emmanuel are buried 
here. 

II Gisu, the only Jesuit church in Rome, is a very rich 
one, and has the largest piece of lapis-lazuli in the world 
at one of the altars, in the shape of an immense sphere. 
Its paintings are also very fine. 

The Capitoline Gallery has a wealth of art treasures, 
principal among which are the statues of Castor and 
Pollux, and the original wolf, known to date back to 500 
B. C, as there is an authentic account of its being struck 
by lightning 200 P.. C, and that it was then 300 years 
old. The rent in the leg, made by the lightning, shows 



Over the Sea. 125 

plainly, but the figures of the children are not the origi- 
nal ones, those having 'been lost. The beautiful Capi- 
toline Venus, Hercules, Mars, and the Dying Gladiator 
are among the most notable marbles and Guido Rein's 
"Maddelina," and Guercini's "St. Petronilla" are among 
the valuable paintings. 

The Borghese Gallery, at the Borghese Palace, has 
among its greatest treasures "Pauline," by Canova; 
"David," by Bernini when he was only sixteen; 
"Apollo and Daphne," by the same sculptor; "St. 
Cecilia," by Domenichino ; "Christ on the Cross," by 
Van Dyke; "Jupiter and Danae," by Correggio ; 
"Sacred and Profane Love," by Titian; "Moses," by 
Guido Reni ; "Christ" and "Mater Doloroso," by Carlo 
Dolce ; "Three Ages of Man," b\ r Sassoferrato ; 
"Aeneas Saving His Father," by Bernini; and a copy 
of "The Dancing Faun," made 100 P>. C, the original of 
which was lost. 

Among the best of the Barberini Gallery pictures are 
Guido Rieni's "Beatrice Cenci" and "Potiphar's Wife 
and Joseph," by Andrea Del Sarto. 

A visit to the Quirinal is a great pleasure, especially 
as after viewing all the magnificent public rooms we 
were taken into one of the royal living-rooms, which 
was beautifully adorned with blossoming plants, taste- 



Over the Sea. 127 

fully furnished, and yet having an atmosphere of home 
life. 

In a drive to the Church of St. Paul Without The 
Walls we saw Goethe's statue, a recent present from 
Emperor William II. of Germany t<> the King of Italy, 
also Marcellus Theatre, 82 I!. C, on Aventine Hill, the 
Tomb of Cains Cestns, 92 B. C, built by himself, and an 
English cemetery containing, among others, the grave 
of Shelley. St. 1 'aid's is in the interior a very beautiful 
and interesting church in a very lonesome and out-of- 
the-way place. It is said to contain the actual remains 
of St. Paul under its altar, and has eighty granite pillars, 
which, until a century and a half ago, were of the choic- 
est marbles. At that time the building 1 was much dam- 
aged by fire, and now there are but few marble pillars, 
but there are large squares of marble cut from the re- 
mains of the marble columns, set into the walls. This 
church has 26 I portraits of Popes, from St. Peter to Pins 
X. It has beautiful specimens of malachite presented 
by the Czar of Russia, some mosaics of the fifth and thir- 
teenth centuries, and like St. Peter's and St. John de 
Lateran, a Holy I )oor. 

The Paths of Caracalla are most interesting ruins, 
next in size to the Colosseum, built 212 to 215 A. I)., 
and destroyed in 500 A. J). The various Papal fami- 
lies took much stone and marble awav to build their 



128 Over the Sea. 

palaces and churches, and Napoleon also did the same. 
The floors were formerly beautiful mosaic, the friezes of 
the choicest Carrara marble, the pillars of porphyry and 
other equally precious marbles, remnants of which tell 
the pitiful story of destruction. Sixteen hundred peo- 
ple could have baths at once, either hot, cold, tepid, or 
shower. There were separate places for royalty, sena- 
tors, aristocrats, common people, and servants; there 
was also an amphitheatre, where they had games, races, 
gladiatorial combats, and all kinds of entertainment, and 
a large gymnasium. Work is now being done in 
strengthening and restoring some parts of it. 

Driving out a few miles on the historical Appian Way, 
we saw the ruins of the old Roman aqueducts, and of 
old temples. There are several ancient churches on 
the Way, at which are entrances to the famous cata- 
combs. Those of St. Calixtus are said to be the best, 
and one million people are said to be buried in the 
twelve miles of labyrinthian passages. We walked 
through a pleasant g'arden by the church until we 
reached a booth where small candles were for sale at 
one franc each, to light the visitor through the dark- 
ness of the catacombs. The English-speaking priest 
who was our guide had a start witli many feet of candle 
wound around it which he further unwound as it 
burned away. With his light and our own we went 



Over the Sea. LS9 

down a long" flight of stone steps into the catacombs, and 
kept as close to him as was possible lest we should get 
hopelessly lost in the winding passages. Sometimes 
there were only two tiers of niches for bodies in the 
side of the wall, and sometimes as many as fourteen, one 
above the Other, with tiny ones for babies. In some 
the skeleton remained, in others there was only a pe- 
culiar looking dust. The bodies of the Popes and 
sainted people were formerly all buried here, but have 
been removed to the various churches or cathedrals 
named in their honor. The inscriptions are peculiar. 
It seemed damp and chilly as well as repulsive-, and a few 
moments' stay sufficed. Rome has magnificent foun- 
tains, and a wealth of the most picturesque ruins of vari- 
ous temples and palaces. Grim old Castle Angelo by 
the Tiber is one of the reminders of the terrible events 
of the past history of Rome, and riots and bloodshed oc- 
casionally mar the serenity of life there at the present 
time. When on our way to the Pantheon we drove into 
a square just as a Socialist riot was quelled by the police 
firing into the mob, killing four and wounding 'twenty 
people. This was followed by a general strike of street 
car and cab men, stores were closed, soldiers were 
massed in the squares, and some churches, to keep 
order, and we had to walk to the station when leaving 
for Florence, with porters carrying our baggage on their 



130 



Over fhr Sea. 



backs, as no conveyance could be obtained. It was a 
relief to hear that such extreme troubles seldom occur 
at the present time. 

Rome has a population of 500,000 people, 10,000 sol- 
diers, 10,000 priests, and 365 churches. 

Rome is a city so full of history, so rich in treasures of 
art, the scene of many early Christians' martyrdom, of 
war's dreadful devastations, of the progress of the pres- 
ent in appreciating the glories and faults of the past, 
that it is with deep regret that we depart, leaving so 
much unseen, yet we have stored away in memory much 
to remember of its elories. 




tffflfrafiiiH 




THE OL1SEUM. 



Oirr the Sea. 131 

Florence. 

Florence is such a delightful city that we rejoice to 
arrive, try to crowd the days with the varied feast of 
art, beautw and interest so lavishly spread before us, 
leave with regret, and feel that no tongue or pen can do 
full justice in telling the story of even a brief visit. 

Its natural beauties are great and varied. The 
smoothly-flowing Arno, with its picturesque and sub- 
stantial bridges, the city itself, with its wealth of mag- 
nificent architecture and art, its hue hotels and stores, 
and general atmosphere of happiness and prosperity, the 
surrounding hills, the beautiful park, and the interesting 
suburbs all combine to fascinate and entertain the 
traveler. 

ddie grand cathedral, with its adjacent baptistery 
and campanile compels an immediate visit. The bap- 
tistery, which was the original cathedral, has the won- 
derful bronze doors, one pair by'Andrea Pisano, and the 
other by Ghiberti, both magnificent work, but it was 
said of Ghiberti's, by Michael Angelo, "The}' are worthy 
to be the gates of Paradise." All children born in Flor- 
ence are still christened at the baptistery. 

The cathedral, over six hundred years in building, is 
of vari-colored marbles, and had for its architects 
such masters as Brunelleschi, Donated©, Giotto, and 



132 Over the Sea. 

others who were foremost in their art in the various 
periods of its building. But Brunelleschi had the great 
honor of designing and building the great dome, a most 
difficult task. The campanile, designed and built by 
Giotto, is of wonderful beauty and height, and is the bell 
tower of the cathedral. 

The Royal 17 ffizzi Gallery has such a wealth of the 
best paintings in the world that the visitor is almost ap- 
palled by the amount of the masters' productions he is 
called upon to appreciate, admire, and remember. 
Rubens, Correggio, Raffael, Tintoretto, Bellini, Michael 
Angelo, Murillo, Titian, and many others are repre- 
sented by some of their best work. Among the most 
noted are Murillo's "Madonna," and "The Results of 
War," by Rubens. "Venus de Medici," "The Wres- 
tlers," "The Dancing Faun/' "Appollino," and "Niobe" 
are among the most admired statuary. 

The Pitti Palace was the residence of the King and 
Queen when Florence was the seat of government, from 
L865 to L871, when the royal residence was moved to 
Rome. It had been built in the long ago by a member 
of the Pitti family ambitious to have a palace larger and 
more magnificent than the rival Strozzi family had 
built, and Brunelleschi was the master designer em- 
ployed. < hitwardly severe like all feudal castles, it is a 
marve] of magnificence in interior adornment, and con- 



Over the Sea. 133 

tains untold wealth in its collection of priceless paint- 
ings, bronzes, marbles, and works of art of various 
kinds. It is here that one is privileged to see Raffael's 
"Madonna of the Chair, "so rich in coloring and con- 
ception, so beautiful in faces and forms. 

The Pitti and the LTfizzi Galleries are connected by 
the portrait-hung upper passageway of the famous 
Ponte Yecchio, the oldest bridge of the six that cross 
the Arno. but unless one is very strong and greatly 
pressed for time visit the two galleries on different days, 
and enter the Pitti Gallery from its palace entrance, 
which makes it much more impressive and less weari- 
some. 

Xear the Palazzo Yecchio stands the unique Loggia, 
formerly a shelter where citizens could meet and discuss 
public affairs, afterwards the station of the Ducal Guard, 
which has become the treasury of rare works of art, 
among them: John of Bologna's famous work, "The 
Rape of the Sabines," Benvenuto Cellini's masterpiece 
in bronze, "Perseus Slaving Medusa"; Fedi's "Seizure 
of Polvxena by Achilles," with the dying brother of 
Polvxena at his feet, and the Mother Hecuba trying in 
vain to rescue her child. The four figures are carved 
from one block of marble, and were completed in I860. 
Michael Angelo's "David" has now been placed in the 
Academy of Fine Arts, as its former location in the open 



r: WM 




Over the Sra. 135 

was found to be injuring- the marble. This was one 
of the master's greatest triumphs, being made from an 
eighteen-feet long piece of marble that had been injured 
and discarded by another sculptor. In the sacristy of 
the Church (if San Lorenzo are the same master's great 
works of "Day and Night," "Twilight and Dawn," 
carved on the sarcophagi of Lorenzc and Julian de 
Medici. The Church of Santa Croce contains the tombs 
of Michael Angelo, Galileo, the poet Alfieri, Machiavelli. 
Cherubim, and other distinguished men. In front of 
the same church is the hue statue of Dante unveiled with 
great pomp on May 1*2, 1865, the six-hundredth anniver- 
sary of the great poet's birth. 

The city contains the former homes of the Brownings, 
Dante and Michael Angelo, and in the English cemetery 
are the graves of Elizabeth liarrett Browning, Theodore 
Parker, and of other distinguished English and Ameri- 
can people. 

The marble and other art stores, the jewelers', and the 
silk stores are all very attractive, and much that is really 
valuable can be bought for a comparatively small 
amount. ( )n a high hill, a few miles out of Florence, 
stands the Carthusian Monastery of La Certosa. 
Crapes .olives, and figs grow in abundance here. The 
buildings are rambling, and enclose a large garden, in 
which grow all sorts of fine vegetables. Around this 



136 



Over the Sea. 



garden on three sides are the dormitories of the monks 
who live there. The doors are lettered in alphabetical 
order, each monk lias a small bedroom with very plain 
bed, a small writing-room with an ancient desk, a living- 
room with a small stand, a chair, a table-leaf letting 
down from the wall, serving for a dining-table, a tiny 
cupboard above, and an entry way, having a sliding panel 
opening onto thecovered portico outside, through which 
panel their food is passed to them by the kitchen ser- 
vant, and which they eat alone, excepting on Sunday 
and some other special days, when the}- eat together in 
the large dining-room of the Monaster)'. Five days in 
the week there are times when thev may converse, but 
on Sundays thev only have a brief time following ves- 
pers for conversation. The monk who escorted us 
about was a grand looking old Roman, but he had not 
been allowed to visit his native city for twenty-six vears. 
Their garb is of white woolen cloth, and our escort had 
a long white beard, which made him closely resemble 
pictures of the old Patriarchs. There is a beautiful 
chapel with magnificent marble floor, fine altar and 
paintings, Carrara marble statues of deceased church 
dignitaries, and a robing-room of beautifully-carved 
and inlaid olive and walnut wood. The crypts also have 
an altar and memorial statues, and in their pharmacy 
can be obtained the well-known Chartreuse wine of their 
own vintage. 



Over /lie Sea. 



l: 



A charming coaching trip can be made to the ancient 
city of Faesoli, where is the old Roman theatre, dating 
back to 600 A. I)., and only discovered in the excava- 
tions of 1873. Later excavations in L891 and 1900 have 
brought | to light still more treasures, temples of 
Bacchus and Minerva were found, and the small town 
museum is now well filled with housekeeping utensils, 
jewelry, coins, weapons, and carvings. In the theatre 
were rows of stone seats, semi-circular in shape, high 
seats for the aristocracy, the arena, the space for the 
stage, and covered entrances from which men or beasts 
might come, all in a wonderful state of preservation. 
Some of Faesoli's streets are so narrow that pedestrians 
have to stand close to the buildings to let a carriage 
pas?, 

Up a long succession of zig-zags like the Alpine 
passes we drove through the woods to the mediaeval 
castle of Vincigiiata, dating back to 1031. It was an old 
feudal castle, allowed to go to decay until the latter part 
of the nineteenth century, when a wealthy Englishman 
bought it and restored it to much of its old grandeur. 
< )i most picturesque exterior, its rooms and furnishings 
are all in keeping with the outward appearance,, low ceil- 
ings all of stone, small windows iron-barred, thick 
walls to repel assaults, and quaint old decorations. 
There must have been a ghost, for there are dark pas- 




IN SUNNY ITALY. 



Over the Sea. L39 

sages, trap doors, dungeons, torture chambers, and 
seemingly all that is requisite for the habitation of a 
ghost. 

Art treasures are numerous, consisting of original 
paintings, mosaics, majolica bas-reliefs, treasure chests, 
carved and embossed chairs, mural tablets, tablets com- 
memorating visits of royalty, big kitchen fireplace, 
with machinery to turn the spit, frames of skewers for 
the meat, ancient pottery and copper dishes, dining- 
room and chambers, with feudal times' furnishings, im- 
mense inner court-yard with many relics on the walls, 
and stairs leading to bell and watch tower and battle- 
ments above. In driving home we saw the old home of 
Galileo, where he lived, studied, invented the telescope, 
made many astronomical discoveries, and suffered the 
terrible loss of his sight. 

Near the church of St. Mimas on the height of San 
Miniato are the relics of the old rampart, built in 1529 
by Michael Angelo, sculptor, poet, painter, architect, and 
civil engineer to the Republic, for he managed for 
months the defence of Florence against a foreign foe. 
( )n the hill is a memorial Square of Michael Angelo, 
adorned with a bronze copy of his "David," and nearby 
is the beautiful Campo Santo of Florence. 

The chief city of beautiful Tuscany will always beckon 
us to return, enjoy her more, and learn more about her 



140 Over the Sea. 

glories so as to be aide the better to describe and re- 
member them. 

Venice. 

Imagine a railroad station with no rattle of approach- 
ing and departing cabs and express wagons ! And high- 
ways on which the voice of man, the ripple of water 
against buildings, boats and oars, with the occasional 
whistle of small steamers, are the only sounds! 

Venice, with the charm of her quieting and restful in- 
fluence on the traveler, wearied with the noise and con- 
fusion of all other cities, draws him like a magnet, rests 
his tired nerves, prepares him for full enjoyment and 
appreciation of her glorious beauty and uniqueness, and 
he departs reluctantly with happy memories and the de- 
termination to never omit Venice from his European 
itinerary. 

Idle moment you are really seated in the gondola and 
are moving smoothly along on the canals, with the tall 
houses and palaces rising abruptly out of the water on 
either hand, with other gondolas Hitting by, the cries of 
the gondoliers in your ears, the cathedrals, with their 
towers and campaniles reaching" heavenward, the more 
pretentious or the simple little bridges spanning the 
water highways, and making walking possible, you take 



Over the Sea. 1-1-1 

a long breath of satisfaction, and enjoy to the fullest 
possible extent the fact that yon are really in Venice. 

Venice is built on 117 islands, with canals for streets, 
vet there are narrow passageways in the rear and at the 
sides of the buildings, with connecting bridges and some 
large squares, so that one can really go all about the city 
on foot if one chooses, yet there are no other convey- 
ances than gondolas, and various other boats. On the 
principal water ways at the most used places of crossing 
there are ferries to accommodate the people. The gon- 
dolas are nearly all painted black, and look rather 
funereal when without the striped awnings which are 
used on warm, quiet days. But wealthy citizens and the 
various ambassadors keep their gondoliers in attractive 
liveries — in the warm season in white suits with bright- 
colored sashes and ribbons on their hats to match the 
sash. 

It is wonderful how easily they glide around the 
sharp turns of the canals, and among a throng of other 
gondolas. When the weather permits, there are usually 
three troupes of singers and musicians in three lantern- 
lighted and decorated barges, who spend the evenings 
on the Grand Canal, entertaining the visitors and inhabi- 
tants, and reaping a harvest of small coin. The collec- 
tion is frequently taken by a man who goes from gon- 
dola to gondola in a surprisingly nimble manner. The 



142 Over the Sea. 

three troupes keep some distance apart, and there is 
quite a rivalry as to which shall secure the largest audi- 
ence and the most money. * >n a warm, clear night, to 
be in a gondola, a part of the throng- who linger near one 
and then another of the barges, listening to the Italian 
operatic selections and serenades, sung as only Italians 
can render them, with the stars over head, the lanterns 
on the gondolas, the gaily-decorated barges of the 
singers, and the palatial, well-lighted hotels and palaces 
on either hand, is indeed like being in fairyland — the pe- 
culiar fairyland of Venice. The singers are mostly men 
and women who work in the Arsenal, but the great 
musical talent is born in them, and they sing the diffi- 
cult arias with a fervor and skill wonderful for people 
who have had no more musical instruction than it is 
possible for such laborers to have 

It is an eminently entertaining way to begin each day 
by going to St. Mark's Square and feeding some of the 
thousands of doves who live in and about St. Mark's. 
Wherever you land, at every cathedral or square, a d-e- 
crepid ex-gondolier stands with his long-handled boat- 
hook, ready to hold the gondola steady and help you out. 
The pennies he collects in this way support him in his 
old age, and it is a pleasure to give them. 

Procuring corn of an old Italian, you till your hands 
with the kernels, extend them, and quietly waiting, are 



144 Over the Sea. 

soon discovered by the beautiful doves, who will alight 
on your shoulders and arms, and even on your head. 
Sometimes they eat together peaceably, then again 
quarrels ensue. Indeed they illustrate human nature 
very truly. If there is only a friend at hand to take a 
snap shot while mam' doves are enjoying your bounty, 
it will be one of the most prized pictures collected in 
your travels. It is said they used to release doves in 
some part of their religious services, and as there is a 
heavy fine for killing one, they have flourished and in- 
creased until there are thousands of them of various 
colors. Another story is that carrier-cloves, captured at 
the taking of the Island of Candia, formed the nucleus of 
this great bird colony. 

St. Mark's Cathedral was built in the eleventh century 
on the site of one burned in 976. It is in Byzantine 
style, with Gothic additions of the fourteenth and 
Renaissance alterations of the seventeenth century. It 
has five domes, with mosaics, outside and in, which 
would ecpial an acre in extent, and are of the most beau- 
tiful colors on a golden ground. Above the portal on 
the front of the church stand the celebrated bronze 
horses which Constantine carried from Rome to Con- 
stantinople, from which city they were brought to 
Venice in 1205 by Marino Zeno, in 1797 taken by Na- 
poleon to decorate Paris, and restored to Venice in 



Over the Sea. 1-15 

1815, after Waterloo. Rich marbles abound in the edi- 
fice, there are handsome bronze doors, and the mosaics 
in the Sacristy are in the best Renaissance style by 
Titian and his pupils. In the raids and looting" of vari- 
ous islands in the Adriatic and Mediterranean and in 
Oriental lands in the ancient days when Venice and 
Genoa were such rivals, the most valuable columns, 
marbles, and adornments were always brought home by 
the Venetians for new decorations of their beloved San 
Marco. The principal object of the whole church is the 
high altar, containing, within it, the body of the Evange- 
list, St. Mark. The floor is of stone mosaic of varied 
patterns, and in its uneven surface shows the danger 
that threatens this wonderful structure, and in fact many 
in Venice, that of the settling of the foundations ; and 
since the fall of its beautiful campanile a few years ago, 
much work is being done to strengthen that church. 
Some of the other campaniles in Venice lean very per- 
ceptibly, and it gives the visitor a little feeling of inse- 
curity. The buildings are so massive, and of stone or 
marble, that the foundations have heavy burdens to up- 
hold. The new Campanile of San Marco is now slowly 
rising, we trust to endure for ages. Its clock tower 
has a wonderful arrangement for striking the hour. 
The big bell has on two sides a mammoth bronze 
figure of a man of athletic build, and in ancient Venetian 




FEEDING THE DOVES, ST. MARK'S SQUARE, 



Over I lie Sen. 117 

costume, with an immense sledge hammer in his hand, 
the head resting on the ground. On the hour these 
figures in turn seem to be imbued with life, turn about, 
raise the sledge-hammer, and, with great deliberation, 
strike the requisite number of blows on the bell. 

The Square of San Marco possesses extensive arcades 
about it, in the lower stories of the public and other 
buildings surrounding the square, which make a most 
fascinating promenade, both from the varied stream of 
humanity one meets and the beautiful goods, laces, 
jewels, and glass manufactures displayed in the shops 
lining tne arcades. As you enter St. Mark's Square 
from the Grand Canal, arising as guardians of this ap- 
proach to the great cathedral are the two columns, 
erected in 1187, but brought as booty from the East, 
each crowned with a figure of the two patron saints, St. 
Theodore and the winged lion of San Marco. 

In spite of the beauties of architecture, coloring, and 
location of the Doges' Palace it is impossible to escape 
the haunting thought of the sufferings, tortures, execu- 
tions, and general mis-rule so associated with its past 
history. The many beautiful photographs and paint- 
ings have made us so familiar with the outside of the 
Doges' Palace that no description of its grand archi- 
tecture is necessary. The picture prepares you for the 
reality, and you are not disappointed. The Ducal 



1-18 Over the Sea. 

Courtyard is impressive with its fountains, the Giants 
Stairs guarded by the colossal statues of Mars and Nep- 
tune, and the winged lion of St. Mark above the door. 
The noted Scala d'Oro, or golden stairs, up which one 
ascends, so called from its gilt-frescoed ceiling and also 
from the fact that in the days of the Republic no one 
could pass up those stairs unless their names were writ- 
ten in the Libro d'Oro, or Golden Book, was built by 
Sansovino in 1556. Built in the fifteenth and sixteenth 
centuries, it has interior decorations by the best of the 
artists of those days. Fabriano and Pisano, Bellini and 
Titian were among them. Later restorations and re- 
decorations were made by Tintoretto, Paolo Veronese, 
and Palma the Younger. 

All the rooms in the Palace have gems by Tintoretto, 
Veronese, and Titian. Many of the pictures are really 
portraits of the Doges, adoring some saint. The 
Ambassadors' Hall is filled with just such pictures, and 
the ceiling is entirely by Veronese. Opening from the 
throne room is the Doges' private oratory. In the 
Venetian Star Chamber sat that fearful Council of Ten 
who decided the fate of so many innocent people, ac- 
cused in the written notes dropped into the "Lion's 
Mouth" of some fancied crime against the law which 
was seized upon by the council as an excuse for their 
execution. The Bridge of Sighs and the dungeons be- 




A SPECIMEN OF VENETIAN ARCHITECTURE. 



150 Over the Sea. 

low could tell terrible tales of crime and suffering had 
they a mind and the gift of speech. If the dead respond 
in the body to the last trumpet's call a long procession 
of victims will arise from the depths of the sea beyond 
the Grand Canal, for there many a wronged Venetian 
fi >und a waterv grave. 

In the immense chamber built for the Council of No- 
bles is the largest oil painting in the world — Tintoretto's 
"Paradise." 

The Accademia delle Belle Arti has fine paintings by 
the best artists, but the best of all is Titian's "Presenta- 
tion of the Virgin," one of the best frescoes in the world. 
The Pilazzo Minelli o del Bobolo, with the outside spiral 
staircase known as the "Scala Minelli," is very deco- 
rative and unique. The Cathedral of Santa Maria della 
Salute is one of the grandest of the Venetian cathedrals 
next to St. Mark. Its architecture is superb, it has fine 
old sacred pictures, Procaccini's "Last Supper," Tinto- 
retto's "Marriage of Cana," and Sassoferrato's "Ma- 
donnas" and "Mater Doloroso" being the best. 

San Giorgio degli Schiavoni is noted for its series of 
Carpaccio's paintings, and Santa Maria dei Frari has a 
fine campanile, a monument to Titian, and some of his 
works, Canova's tomb made by his pupils after his own 
design, and in the sacrist)- Bellini's wonderful altar piece 
of the Frari Madonna. 



Over the Sea. 15J 

The Rialto Bridge, with its fine span, the foundations 
of which, upheld by strong piling consisting of elm logs, 
have remained firm all these years, is well worth a visit. 
Rows of small shops line the sides of the bridge, and 
there are markets and various stores near the ap- 
proaches. 

There are grand old palaces and homes of dis- 
tinguished characters, such as Desdemona, Byron, 
and George Sand. The lace and glass factories are 
among the best in the world, and their products are so 
alluring that it is hard to resist buying articles which 
would be very troublesome to the traveler before home 
was reached ; notably the charming but frail electric 
lamps of most artistic fruit and flower designs. 
But small daughters and girl friends at home can be 
made very happy with strings of Venetian beads, which 
are lovely and cheap. 

The Custom House is a busy place, and the amount of 
shipping which gathers here in bringing passengers and 
merchandise is astonishing. In front of St. Giovanni 
e Paolo stands the best equestrian statue in the world, 
that of Colleone, a captain-general of the Venetian 
army in the fifteenth century, begun by the sculptor 
Verocchio, and, after his death, finished by Leopardi. 
This church was formerly the burial place of the Doges, 
and has many monuments. 



152 Over the Sea. 

Lido is the Revere Beach or Cony Island of Venice, 
and the gondola ride to that island, the brief car trip 
across it, and the walk on the sandy shore of the blue 
Adriatic is a delightful afternoon's trip. Then on the 
way back stop at the island of San Lazare and visit the 
wealthy Armenian Monastery. There are good pic- 
tures, a very rare library, with an entire room of beauti- 
fully illustrated manuscript books. 

The first newspaper in the world was sold in St. 
Mark's Square for a small coin, called a "gazetta," from 
which we get our word, gazette. Venice has had a va- 
ried history. It formerly possessed some of the richest 
islands of the Mediterranean and Adriatic, and had 
great facilities for ship-building*. Sometime a Republic, 
it has, since Napoleon ended that, belonged alternately 
to Austria and Italy, being last ceded to Italy in 1866. 

Fair Venice ! May you always survive the ravages of 
time to delight Humanity. 

Werona ani> flDilan. 

On the railway journey from Venice to Milan a few 
hours' stay at Verona will well repay the traveler. This 
town antedates the dominion of the Romans. Catullus 
was born here, Paolo Veronese was also a native, and 
Dante and Garibaldi had homes here. The old amphi- 



Over tie Sea. 153 

theatre, which is said to date from 219 A. D., is of stone, 
oval in shape, lias a royal box, originally had three gal- 
leries, was fifty years in building, the work being done 
by prisoners, and accommodated 60,000 people. It had 
not been used for gladiatorial exhibitions since the fif- 
teenth century, but was arranged for such uses, having 
prisons and animal cages. In the Roman time the 
arena was ten feet deeper, and the wall separating the 
arena from the seats was five feet higher, with iron 
gates, so that the lions and bulls could not harm the 
spectators. But alas for the poor prisoners, who, con- 
ducted from their prisons down rude stairs, along a 
short gallery, and up a few steps into another small 
prison close by the arena, were allowed to remain there 
one hour for the ministrations of the priests, and then 
were sent forth into the arena to perish by wild 
beasts or men unless the whim of the populace should, 
by raising thumbs and voice, demand the release of 
some favorite at a critical moment in the fray. This 
amphitheatre is in a better state of preservation than 
the one at Rome and was used in 1898 by Buffalo Bill 
for his Wild West show, when he took an immense 
amount of money from the large crowds who flocked 
into the town to see the American and his entertainment. 
We drove through one well preserved old Roman 
Gate, and at the Monasterv of St. Bernardino there are 



Over the Sea. 155 

sections of old Roman mosaic floor, and the remains of a 
Roman bath unearthed in L885, and supposed to be a 
part of the Veronese Temple of Minerva. The grand 
cathedral has Titian's "Assumption of the Virgin,"' a 
verv fine picture. The interior of the church was much 
injured at the time of the plague, in the sixteenth cen- 
tury, when it was used as a hospital, and the great 
quantities of lime, used for disinfecting, injured the wall 
decorations. The reputed tomb of Shakespeare's Juliet, 
which consists of a rude stone sarcophagus, the cover 
of which was carried off to the Louvre by Napoleon, 
was originally in the garden by the old Franciscan 
Monastery, where Juliet attended school under Father 
Lorenzo's care. But the State has taken the grounds 
for garrison stables, and the tomb has been placed in a 
small temple nearby, which also contains a portrait of 
Father Lorenzo and a window in the school building 
from which Juliet used to speak to Romeo. The 
Capulet home, with a remnant of the support of the 
balcony, the reputed Romeo house, now used as a sta- 
ble, Dante's and Garibaldi's former homes, and the 
famous Gothic Scaliger tombs were shown to us. 
Verona is an old walled city, with a very deep moat, and 
its peculiar points of interest cannot be duplicated else- 
where. 

Milan has two world-famed points of interest, the 



156 Over the Sea. 

cathedral and Leonardo da Vinci's wonderful fresco of 
"The Last Supper." 

Having" seen the cathedrals of Cologne, Seville, and 
Rome, and the great Oriental mosques, it can be truly 
said that Milan's beautiful white marble cathedral excels 
them all. It was begun in L386, consecrated in 1577 by 
Cardinal Charles Borromeo, and practically finished in 
1775, but the work of completing interior decorations 
and some of the pinnacles is still going on, while some 
of the oldest parts of the church are being re- 
stored. It is built of white marble obtained near Lake 
Maggiore, the church owning two large quarries there. 
The glass is principally modern, although the rear win- 
dow of the altar is of the fourteenth century. The 
church also has a glass manufactory in Venice known 
as Salvini's, where the best glass in the world is made. 

The architecture is Gothic, with many harmonious 
variations. The entire outside of the church is covered 
witli magnificent carving and statuary, it being esti- 
mated that there are 2,000 statues on the outside and 
300 large gargoyles. The many pinnacles are joined by 
arches, each of which has one kind of flower or fruit for 
decoration. From the roof only can one view with ap- 
preciation this wonderful marble garden of fruit and 
flowers, in which there are no duplicates. The interior 
is all of a gray brown, with just a tinge of red, and is 



Over the Sea. 157 

very impressive. The capitals of the pillars have in- 
tricate tracery and statues. The ceiling, which appears 
to he deeply cut in very artistic designs, is the only imi- 
tation work in the cathedral. It is so faithfully painted 
and shaded that it is difficult to believe that it is not 
carved. Imitation is not thought worthy of remaining 
in such a beautiful cathedral, and several artists have 
been employed to find a genuine artistic ceiling worthy 
of the place. Several experimental sections are to be 
seen at the side of the ceiling, which, although artistic 
and genuine, yet lack very much of equaling the 
magnificent effect of the painted imitation, and it is to 
be hoped that it will be left as it is until something 
equally successful in effect shall be found. Just in front 
of the main altar is the opening, over the crypt of 
Cardinal Charles Borromeo, who did so much for the 
church, and dying in 1586 was embalmed and buried in 
a beautiful crystal and silver casket, dressed in magnifi- 
cent gold cloth robes, with gem-encrusted cardinal's hat, 
pearl and gold crown, two costly gem and gold crosses. 
one sent by Maria Theresa of Austria ; with gloves on, 
and two immense rings of great value outside of the 
glove ; with gem-encrusted sword, and other magnifi- 
cent presents. The casket is in a silver and bronze sar- 
cophagus, the front of which can be lowered to show the 
contents, for seeing which you pay the sad-faced priest 



158 Over the, Sea. 

who is the show man the sum of five francs. He 
solemnly lights the seven candles which are on the altar 
in front of the sarcophagus, then he puts on a white 
surplice, turns a crank and lowers the front so you can 
see the contents with the aid of a burglar-like dark lan- 
tern. The chapel, the walls of which are of solid silver 
with interesting- bas-relief representing scenes in the 
cardinal's life, was a gift from the city of Milan, and 
everything in the chapel was given for the purpose of 
doing honor to the cardinal. Nearby is another small 
chapel where daily service is held in the winter. 

Milan Cathedral has no regular bell tower. They 
could not add one without destroying the symmetry, so 
the bells were placed between the two shells of the 
dome, and the ringing is accomplished by some intricate 
arrangement of the ropes, to avoid having them come 
down directly in front of the altar. The towers of the 
large dome were each built in a different century, and 
the one containing the staircase cost $2,800,000. 

A short drive brings us to the Church of Santa Maria 
delle Grazie, in the refectory of which is the world- 
famous fresco of "The Last Supper," by Leonardo da 
Vinci. The entire treatment seems perfect. The per- 
spective and expressions of the faces are such that none 
vet can reproduce them. Several have made copies on 
the other walls of the refectory, but very imperfect they 



Over the Sea. 159 

are, and in spite of the terribly-injured condition of the 
fresco, caused by Napoleon having" the room used for 
stabling horses, it is so rich in expression that it is awe- 
inspiring. Christ's face has the best expression of any 
representation yet seen of the Master excepting the 
medallion head of Christ in the cathedral at Antwerp, 
also done by Leonardo da Vinci. 

In the Brera gallery among the best pictures are 
Rafrael's "Marriage of the Virgin," Rembrandt's "Por- 
trait of a Lady," Van Dyke's "St. Antony of Padua," 
and his "Madonna and Child," and Rubens' "Last Sup- 
per," a most unusual treatment of this scene, having an 
oval table, the length of the table facing you, Christ 
having a small round loaf of bread in His hand, a glass 
of wine before Him on the table, the disciples eagerly 
leaning forward listening to the Master, and Judas very 
prominent in the front of the picture with a fine por- 
trayal of contending passions on his face. Here also 
are Correggio's "Madonna and Child," Guido Reni's 
"St. Peter and St. Paul," Albani's "Dancing Cupids," and 
some pleasing pictures of the modern school. Milan 
has much that is fascinating to the shopper, especially in 
the way of silk goods and many other things, and the 
extensive glass covered arcades near the cathedral are 
much enjoyed by the visitor, containing, as they do, 
many of the best shops, and affording protection from 
sun and rain. 



160 Over the Sea. 

Tradition tells us that Milan was founded 600 B. C. 
It was captured by the Romans from the Gauls in 222 
B. C, and was one of the chief cities of the later empire 
of Rome. It is now the chief city of Lombardy, and is 
noted for its commercial and financial power, and for 
its silk manufactures, as well as for its artistic and musi- 
cal interests. The Scala Theatre, where the great 
operas are heard, is said to be the largest theatre in the 
world. 

Xucevnc. 

The railway journey of 176 miles from Milan to Lu- 
cerne is one of the most picturesque and charming trips 
one can take. It affords a grand panorama in the sum- 
mer, but still grander in the spring, when not only the 
loftiest of the Alps, but the lower ranges are still snow- 
covered, yet the valleys and lowest slopes are green 
with verdure and bright with flowers, the fruit trees are 
in bloom, the streams and cascades big with the rapidly 
melting snows, and the land seems full of promise of the 
summer's blessings and beauties. 

Through Como, Lugano, Belliuzona, and Altorf the 
road runs, including the St. Gotthard Tunnel, that won- 
derful accomplishment of engineering skill, nine miles in 
length, requiring seventeen minutes for an express train 




THE LION OF LUCERNE. 



162 Over the Sea. 

to pass through. There are several lengthy and many 
short tunnels on this route. 

Lucerne is a favorite resting" place for tired travelers, 
and full of possibilities for enjoyment for one who is 
fresh and ready to explore one of Switzerland's most 
interesting localities. Situated on Lake Lucerne, Rigi 
on the one hand and Pilatus on the other, giving oppor- 
tunities for being comfortably carried in the dependable 
Swiss mountain trains to heights commanding great 
views of the higher Alpine ranges, there is much to do 
on land and water if one so feels inclined. Xo words 
can do justice to Lake Lucerne with its wonderful 
scenery. A lake of a beautiful blue with the Alps for a 
setting, picturesque Lucerne on the shore, with its 
ancient walls and towers, interesting churches and 
dwellings, and its magnificent grand hotels, where one 
can be so comfortable, and draw near to Nature's heart 
when just sitting on the little balcony of your chamber 
window, and absorbing for inspiration and memory the 
scene spread out before you ! 

It is beautiful in the light of day, but on a pleasant 
summer evening it is unreal and fairy-like in its beauty 
and grandeur. Charter a launch, explore the lake, and 
revel in the scene. There will be many other boats with 
lights and Chinese lanterns, moving to and fro, a beauti- 
ful display of lights on Rigi, a line of lights up the steep 



Over the Sea. 163 

side of Stanserhonij and a searchlight operated from the 
top, sending out its far-reaching eye in all directions ; 
a great display of lights on Pilatus, the brilliant lights of 
the city, the scattering ones on the nearby hills, the 
lights of other little villages on the other shores of the 
lake, with God's matchless star-studded dome above all, 
making a scene complete in its beaut}', elevating in its 
influence on the mind, and never to be forgotten. 

Mount Rigi, from the peculiarity of its location, com- 
mands a view, the boundary of the circumference of 
which would measure about 300 miles, and has a height 
of 5,905 feet. Take a tram-car from the hotel to the 
wharf, board the steamer for Vitzneau, and after a de- 
lightful sail on Lake Lucerne to this pretty village, 
board the small but comfortable cars of the Rigi railway, 
view the thrifty homes of Vitzneau, with the fruit and 
nut orchards and groves just above it, where grow al- 
monds, chestnuts, pears, figs, and other fruits. A little 
further up is pasturing land sufficient for 4,000 head of 
cattle, and at the very top it is rocky and grassy, too. 
One or two Jersev cows were grazing even there. The 
powerful little engine, one to each car, did its work 
faithfully, pushing up and around, and up again over 
trestles, over brinks of steep precipices, where one can 
look down hundreds of feet, through a tunnel, past 
Rigi-Klosterli, Wolfertschen-Station. Rigi-Staffel. and 




PICTURESQUE SWITZERLAND. 



I Over the Sea. 165 

finally you arrive at Rigi-Kulm. On a clear day more 
than one hundred and fifty named mountains whose 
height is known can he seen, rising" peak above 
and beyond peak, snow-capped and some snow-covered, 
with great glaciers showing on their sides, the crevasses 
and ice fields made plainly visible by the aid of a power- 
ful telescope, for the use of which the traveler gladly 
pays a small sum. This list includes the Jungfrau, Wet- 
terhorn, and many other very high peaks. Looking 
northward and eastward one sees Lake Zug and the sur- 
rounding country, also Lake Lucerne, Lake Sempach, 
Baldegg and the other Jura mountains appearing to the 
north and northwest, with here and there the little vil- 
lages dotting the landscape, and the streams and roads 
looking like little streaks and furrows, they are so far 
below us. The place is pointed out where the great 
land slide occurred early in the nineteenth century, when 
110 houses and 470 people were buried by the slide, 
when the detached portion slid into the lake at the base 
just east of Arth. 

Pilatus has its summit cloud-capped so much of the 
time that we were unable to make an ascent of that 
mountain during our stay, but the ascent is said to be 
much steeper than Rigi, and a clear view from its sum- 
mit to be verv fine. There is an old tradition that Pon- 



166 Over the Sea. 

tilts Pilate, conscience-stricken at his deed of giving 
Christ up to the Jews for crucifixion, wandered about, 
until finally he came to this mountain and threw himself 
into a small lake near the summit. From this tradition 
the mountain is named Pilatus. 

The flora of Switzerland, including the Alps, is a great 
pleasure to the lover of flowers. Colors and kinds are 
very varied, including gentians, asters, and many others. 

ddie "Lion of Lucerne," a monument to the common 
memory of the Swiss soldiers who fell at the siege of the 
Tuileries in August and September, 1792, after an 
heroic struggle, is a wonderful piece of sculpture. It 
was made in 1823 In' Ahorn of Constance after a model 
by Thorwaldsen, and is hewn in the face of a cliff which 
rises sixty feet, and the lion is twenty-eight feet long. 
In the recess made in the cliff, lies the lion wounded 
unto death, yet defending the arms and shields en- 
trusted to him. Above it is the simple legend, "Hel- 
vetiorum fidei ac virtute," "To the Fidelity and Virtue 
of the Swiss Soldiers," with the names of the fallen 
heroes. 

At the base of the cliff is a shallow pond of water fed 
by a rippling brook, and the leafy branches of the trees 
drooping around it make a fitting frame for this great 
piece of sculpture. See it first by night, when the well- 
arranged electric light shines strongly upon it, and the 



Over the Sea. Ku 

surrounding shadows give it the appearance of a great 
medallion. Then see it by daylight and study it, but the 
evening view will be the one which most impresses you. 

The ancient St. Leodegar Church was founded in the 
seventh century, and re-built after a fire in 1506. It is 
Catholic, and has an old and very famous organ built 
in 1650 by Geisler of Salzburg, and reconstructed by 
Haas in 1862. He was the originator of the "Vox 
humana" stop. The organ was again restored by Goll 
in 1898 and 1899, and fitted with a "Vox celeste " It 
has 4,950 pipes. Beyond the church is a very ancient 
burying-ground. 

The River Reuss has seven bridges spanning its 
course through Lucerne, the most famous of which is 
the Spreuer-lh'iicke, built in 1333 all of wood, recalling 
the time when Lucerne was known as the "wooden 
stork's nest" because every house was at that time built 
of wood. It has many triangular paintings at regular in- 
tervals beneath the peaked roof. representing the "Dance 
of Death," portraying various scenes at which Death 
makes a seemingly untimely appearance. The paintings 
date from the eighteenth century. There is another 
similar bridge a little farther down known as the Kapell- 
Rriicke, whose 154 paintings represent scenes from the 
lives of St. Leodegar and St. Mauritius, the patron saints 
of Lucerne. Adjoining this bridge is the old Wasser- 



168 Over (he Sea. 

thurm, containing the Municipal Archives. According 
to tradition, this was formerly a lighthouse. Lucerna, 
hence the name of the town. These two old covered 
wooden bridges cross the Reuss diagonally. The old 
part of the city has many buildings adorned with paint- 
ings on the outside walls. 

The International Museum of Peace and War, built 
in the mediaeval castle style, is an imposing looking 
building near the railroad station. Lucerne has well- 
preserved walls and nine watch towers. It has some of 
the most fascinating shops and much that is a delight to 
buy. It is a city we are pleased to visit: every moment 
can be filled with pleasure, and departing with regret, 
we hope to come again to enjoy its charming hospitality. 

Paris 

Strange to say. Paris, after visiting it for the second 
time, does not make us wish to linger as do so many 
other places. Rich as it is with art, wealth, and beaut)-, 
called the most magnificent city of Europe, it is so filled 
with reminders of the horrors of the past, and its rest- 
lessness so impresses one with the idea that there might 
at any moment break forth tumult, riot, and bloodshed, 
that the enjoyment of a stay in the French capital is 
marred by the very impression of the uncertainty of its 



\ Over the Sea. 160 

condition. Some of its people are very peculiar. Out- 
wardly polite, in deed they are often very rude. You 
may be on the outskirts of a crowd of people waiting for 
a train ; up will rush a belated Frenchman, who will 
favor you with a "Pardonnez-moi !" but he will at once 
proceed to elbow you and all the rest out of his way to 
reach the desired vantage point of being in the front, 
without an)- regard for the rights of others. 

Always be on your guard when crossing a Paris 
street. Xo matter how deserted it appears, while you 
are quietly crossing in apparent safety, veils may be 
heard; you look up to find two cab men seemingly bent 
on your destruction bearing down upon you, with no 
attempt to check the speed of their hard-driven horses. 
Your mind works quickly — there is no time to reach 
either sidewalk ; you seize hold of your companion, 
stand your ground, and with hard-hearted glee they 
drive past, each trying to see how near they can come 
without actually running over you, all of which experi- 
ence is quite trying to one's nerves. 

But an American should always remember when criti- 
cising the French people that to France the United 
States is indebted for an army and a fleet sent over by 
Louis XVI. to assist us in gaining our independence, 
and that it was at Paris that peace between Great Britain 
and the United States was proclaimed in 1783; that 



170 Over the Sea. 

it was a French general, General Lafayette, who served 
in the Continental army as a major-general under 
Washington, and was a valued friend and assistant to 
him. So we must good-naturedly accept the elbowings. 
soothing the injuries to feelings and bodies by the 
memory of the great deeds of kindness from the French 
natii >n in the long ago. 

The Place de la Concorde is one of the finest squares 
in the world. In the centre stands the Obelisk of 
Luxor; near by are two beautiful fountains and the 
eight great statues, each symbolizing one of the more 
noted French cities, the one representing Strasburg 
adorned with crepe-bound flags and wreaths, outward 
tokens of the heartfelt grief of the French at the loss of 
Alsace to the Prussians. ( )n one side of the square the 
Seine flows along under its bridge, .501) feet in length: 
on the other lies the garden of the Tuileries. From 
one end the beautiful Champs Elysees stretches its mile 
and a half of extent, the grandest of the Parisian ave- 
nues, and one of the greatest sights in the world when 
viewed on a Sunday or holiday, with all classes of hu- 
manity represented. A vast throng of carriages, auto- 
mobiles, and taximeter cabs are filled with people ; many 
are on horseback, and still greater multitudes are on 
foot, under the shade trees, patronizing the cafes and 
littles places of entertainment. In the evening, when 



172 Over the Sea. 

illuminated with thousands of electric bulbs, electric ad- 
vertisements and decorations, besides the regular lights 
of the avenue, it is a most brilliant scene. 

At the opposite end of the Champs Elysees from the 
Place de la Concorde it most fittingly terminates in the 
grand Arch of Triumph of the Star, from which radiate 
twelve grand avenues. It is one of the greatest arches 
in the world, and commemorates the victories of Napo- 
leon, but armies marched through it in 1814 to celebrate 
Napoleon's overthrow, and the Prussian armies marched 
to this spot in celebrating the capture of Alsace in 1871. 

From the other end of the Place de la Concorde opens 
the handsome Rue Royale, showing that grand Grecian- 
styled Church of the Madeleine. Before the completion 
of this church. Napoleon decreed that it should be a 
Temple of Glory, where yearly the victories of Auster- 
litz and Jena should be remembered, and the fallen 
heroes of those great battles should be honored with 
eulogies and grand ceremonies, but after Waterloo it 
became a church with regular services. 

Near where the Obelisk of Luxor stands was located 
the guillotine where perished Louis XVI. and Marie 
Antoinette, and thousands of the French nobles. 

In the cemetery of the Madeleine were buried, in 
trenches, the victims of the guillotine and some of the 
Swiss soldiers who died in defence of the Tuileries. 



Over the Sea. 173 

The victims were thrown into a common grave, and cov- 
ered with lime. Louis XVI. and Marie Antoinette were 
said to have been given a 'burial by themselves in the 
cemetery, and what is supposed to be their ashes was 
finally removed to the Church of St. Denis. But a 
beautiful chapel has now been built on a part of the old 
Madeleine cemetery, called Chapelle Expiatoire, which 
contains beautiful statues honoring both, and a beau- 
tiful marble fresco, representing the removal of their 
ashes to St. Denis. 

It was an interesting service which we attended on 
Palm Sunday in the Church of the Madeleine, with the 
grand music in this hue cathedral, the light, all from 
above, falling on the immense crowd of worshipers, each 
with his sprig of green, as emblem of the events of the 
first I 'aim Sunday. 

Rue de Rivoli runs the entire length of the Garden of 
the Tuileries. It has been the scene of many political 
events, and its arcaded shops and great hotels are thor- 
oughly enjoyed by visitors. One of the most crucial 
events there happening was the writing by Louis XVI., 
over-persuaded by bad advisers, of the order to the 
Swiss guards not to fire upon the mob. Had they been 
allowed to conquer the mob, instead of remaining silent 
victims, even to 'dying instead of disobeying the King, 
who can say what different history might have been 
made ! 



174 Over the Sea. 

The historic Palace of the Tuileries was demolished 
by the Communists in 1871, the ruins remaining for sev- 
eral years. This palace had been the residence of kings 
and emperors for 300 years. 

The beautiful Arch of Triumph in the Place de Car- 
rousel was built by Napoleon I. to commemorate his 
victories. The bronze horses brought by him from St. 
Mark's, Venice, were attached to a chariot to adorn the 
top of this arch, but after Waterloo those were returned 
to Venice, and new bronze horses were placed here. 

The Palace of the Louvre is one of the greatest 
treasure houses of wonderful art in the whole world. 
Roman bas-reliefs of great age and beauty, the original 
Venus de Milo, Murillo's "Immaculate Conception" and 
his "Birth of the Virgin," Prudhon's "Ascension of the 
Virgin/' "The Three Graces," "The Coronation of 
Napoleon and Josephine," and "Apollo" are a. few of 
the most noted ones. But all the old masters of paint- 
ing and sculpture are represented by some of their best 
works, and the value of the treasures there assembled 
is beyond imagining. 

The Theatre Francais was in being in 1600. Moliere 
was sometime manager, and died suddenly in this 
theatre, where each year the government requires some 
of the standard plays by Moliere, Racine, and Corneille, 
to be «iven as a means of dramatic education. 



Over the Sea. 175 

The Palais Royal, in old Paris, when the residence of 
Cardinal Richelieu, was known as Palais Cardinal. The 
Arcades and a few of the most famous cafes remain, but 
many of the best shops have moved to the Rue de la 
Paix and the Boulevards. This building-, and its gar- 
dens, has been the scene of many historic events. To 
the admirers of Edwin Booth as the cardinal, it will 
bring to mind that this was where the scene was laid 
when he saves "Julie" by the protecting "circle of the 
Holy Church of Rome," and where he simnlates death 
when sought by the assassins of the king. The garden 
used to be the meeting place of the better class of citi- 
zens to discuss government affairs. In the Place de la 
P>astille, at the easterly end of the Boulevards, is the 
beautiful Column of the Bastille, bearing on its summit 
a figure of Liberty, a torch in one hand, and a broken 
chain in the other. For over 500 years the gloom) - old 
Bastille had been a terrible prison filled with the victims 
of tyranny, injustice, and horrible crimes. Its dungeons 
were slimy, filled with vermin, in semi-darkness, and 
little ventilation. When the people attacked it they 
could never have conquered it had not the French sol- 
diers within, rebelling at the sight of their countrymen 
being shot down in the unequal conflict, compelled the 
governor of the Bastille to surrender at the pistol's 
point. Even then he nearly succeeded in applying a 



Over the Sea. 177 

torch to the powder magazine, when the Bastille and 
some 50,000 people would have been destroyed. After 
the surrender, and the liberation of those imprisoned 
within its gloomy walls, it took nearly a year for the 
people, men, women, and children, to tear it down, so 
solidly was it built. Much of its materials were used 
in building a bridge across the Seine, so free France 
walks over the old Bastille. Americans will remember 
that the key of the Bastille was given to ( ieneral Wash- 
ington by General Lafayette, and hangs in Mount Ver- 
non, a grim relic. 

The Vendome Column was built by Napoleon out of 
the bronze of Austrian and Russian cannon captured at 
Austerlitz, and commemorates that victory. The Bour- 
bons, after Waterloo, removed the statue of Napoleon 
which crowned this Column, and replaced it with an 
immense fleur-de-lis, but Louis Philippe, at the request 
of the people, had the fleur-de-lis removed, and placed 
the present statue of Napoleon on the Column. He 
also asked England for permission to remove Napo- 
leon's remains from St. Helena and to bring them to 
Paris. This request being granted, Napoleon's body 
now lies in the grand Dome des Invalides, in that mag- 
nificent mausoleum built by Louis N1Y. for, as he said, 
"the greatest man in the world," meaning himself. The 
French people did not agree with him, and they buried 



178 Over the Sea. 

Louis at St. Denis, and placed their great soldier- 
emperor in a grand porphyry sarcophagus, in the cen- 
tral crypt under the Dome. Near him lie the bodies of 
two of his best friends, Duroc, who died in battle at the 
side of his emperor, and 'Bertrand, who followed him 
into exile. And in two of the small chapels in the cor- 
ners of the main chapel, above the crypt, are the sar- 
cophagi of Napoleon's two brothers, Joseph and Jerome. 

The Dome des Invalides is a part of the Hotel des 
Invalides, the French Soldiers" Home, where were once 
housed so many of the old veterans, but now it has only 
fifty inmates. Scarce ever were gathered together so 
many battle flags, with all or nearly all of the Mag shot 
away, as hang in jthe arches of the Church of the In- 
valides over the veterans' heads when there assembled 
for service. Yet lives protected them and countless 
lives were given to ensure their safety and to bring vic- 
tory to jthe country of which they were an emblem. 
How dreadful is war! 

Notre Dame, the greatest cathedral in Paris, is on a 
small island in the Seine, where dwelt the ancient Gallic 
tribe of warriors called the Parish, who fought with the 
Romans until every one was killed at his post of duty. 
For more than 7 00 years Christian worship has been 
held here, and yet the towers have never been com- 
pleted, and many think they never will be finished. The 



Over (he Sea. 1 J 9 

figures of the kings above the doors are not the origi- 
nals, for those were destroyed by the Revolutionists, and 
the building was diverted from its proper uses to become 
a so-called Temple of Rationalism. Napoleon I. re- 
stored this and many other churches to their original 
purposes, and released from prisons many priests who 
had suffered for conscience' sake. The Eiffel Tower, 
a relic of the great Paris exposition of 1878, is 1,000 feet 
high, and can hold 1 (>,(>()(> people at one time in its res- 
taurants, theatre, shops, and other parts. Two thou- 
sand three hundred people can be lifted up each hour in 
the elevators to the first and second galleries, and T-30 
to the top, where a fine view of Paris can be enjoyed on 
a clear day. The Trocadero, also built for the exposi- 
tion of 1878, is a beautiful building, having a hall in the 
centre seating 6,000 people, and graceful, curving. 
colonnaded wings containing an historical and artistic 
collection. Fine gardens with flowers and fountains are 
in front of it, making a beautiful scene when lighted up 
for July 14 and other holidays. 

The Avenue de l'( )pera has many of the great stores 
ami business houses, and makes a worthy approach to 
the Grand Opera House, with its fine architecture, grand 
staircase, up which such processions of wealth and 
beauty pass to the auditorium, when the opera season is 
on, in this its Parisian home. Although the most noted 



180 Over the Sea. 

singers and operas are heard here, yet the manners of 
the Frenchman again are open to severe criticism. The 
hrst few rows of seats nearest the stage are for gentle- 
men only. Then there are a few rows for gentlemen ac- 
companied by ladies. Next several rows for men, called 
the "claque/' who lead the applause; and hack of them 
an audience of both' sexes. Between acts men in the 
front rows, in the garb of gentlemen, rise with their silk 
hats on their heads, and facing the audience, make a 
business of inspecting the people with their opera 
glasses, even leveling them audaciously at persons 
within six feet of them. The Grand Opera House is 
certainly beautiful in design, but looks dingy as if it 
needed a thorough renovating. 

The Pantheon, or Church of Sainte Genevieve, is a 
symmetrical building, in shape a Greek cross, with 
high towers. It is very beautiful in the interior, and has 
great works of art both in painting and sculpture. The 
original church was probably destroyed by the Normans 
in the ninth century. The present church was begun in 
lT(i4, bnt in 1791 it was first selected as a mausoleum 
for French heroes. Sainte Genevieve, the patron saint 
of Paris, who saved the city from Attila in 4.")! by watch- 
ing for the approach of the enemy and giving warning to 
her countrymen, is buried here. 

The Bourse or Fxchange is quite an imposing build" 



Over th Sea. 181 

ing, and seems to have the usual "Exchange" symptoms 
in the volume of shouts and calls plainly to be heard on 
the street during- the active hours of the stock market. 
Visitors were not allowed, however, when we were in 
Paris. 

The Bois de Boulogne is the largest of the Parisian 
parks, covers nearly four square miles, and has seventy 
acres of artificial water. It is a most attractive park, 
and affords delightful drives. At the end of the Bois 
fie Boulogne is Longchamp, the famous race course of 
Paris. We saw the last and best of the Grand Prix 
races one Sunday afternoon. The race was interesting, 
for it was close and well run under the best of condi- 
tions. But the people and conveyances there assembled 
interested us more than the races. Automobiles were 
backed up to the curbing in a solid line, which must have 
extended a mile, at least. Just imagine it, with only 
room between for the chauffeurs to step! Besides all 
kinds of other conveyances ! The people seemed happy 
and good-natured, and of course were in their Sunday 
best, with all that means to French people on a sunny, 
warm day, when millinery and clothing have responded 
to the example of Mother Nature and are all fresh with 
the beauty of early spring. 

In the city of Saint Denis, two and a half miles north 



182 Over the Pro. 

of the Paris fortifications, is the historic Church of Saint 
Denis, both church and city being named for Saint 
Denis, first apostle and bishop of Paris, who died a 
martyr and became a patron saint of France. It has 
been the burial place of the French kings from the early 
days, having been founded by Dagobert, and the west 
front, some of the chapels, and the crypt survive from 
the re-building- of Suger. 1144, the intervening parts be- 
ing of the most elegant designs of the thirteenth cen- 
tury. In 1793 the enraged populace desecrated the 
crypts, destroyed the magnificent bronze gates given by 
Charlemagne, breaking into the tombs, seizing the 
bodies of kings and queens, and high state and church 
dignitaries, and throwing them into a ditch, covering 
them with lime. Even Henry of Navarre's body, the 
most popular French king, shared the same fate. 
Marshal Turenne's body, being wonderfully well pre- 
served, was saved by a medical student, who begged it 
for the museum, [ardin des Plantes, as an example of 
successful embalming. Years after Xapoleon I., hear- 
ing of this, had the body placed, with military honors, in 
the vaults of the "Invalides." He also began the resto- 
ration of the Saint Denis Cathedral and Tombs, and 
Xapoleon III. finished the work. The bodies could not 
be identified, and were taken up en masse and buried 
under the high altar. 



Over the Sea. 1&3 

Malmaison, to which Josephine retired when divorced 
by Napoleon, is in the village of Renil, and in a small 
church near by is her tomb, with a beautiful statue of 
her as she knelt to receive the crown from Xapoleon. 

A trip to Versailles, especially by automobile, is of 
great interest and pleasure. Passing on the way 
through Sevres, where the magnificent porcelain is 
made, and through St. Cloud, we reach Versailles and 
the Grand Palace, the central part of which was built 
by Louis XIII., but Louis XI V. added extensive wings 
and employed IS, 000 soldiers for thirty years, night and 
day, working on the palace and grounds, paying them 
but little, except a scanty living and clothes to cover 
them. There are 3,000 acres in the palace grounds, and 
it was a very unhealthy place, requiring to be drained, 
filled, and graded. There was no limit to Louis XIV.'s 
extravagance or requirements. A lady guest, remark- 
ing "that it was all very beautiful, but he had no stocked 
fish pond," Louis ordered one to be dug, paved, filled, 
and stocked in a single night, and in the morning he 
showed it to the guest. There are twenty-eight foun- 
tains of beautiful designs, which only play the first Sun- 
dav of the month, holidays, and for distinguished visi- 
tors. The gardens are beautifully laid out, and mag- 
nificent bronze and marble statues are scattered all 



184 Over the Sea. 

through the grounds. There is an orangery, with some 
trees dating back to the time of Francis I., 140-1 to 1547. 
The palace is of very great extent, and the rich 
marbles used in the interior were all brought in teams 
from the Pyrenees. The walls are covered with great 
paintings, done by the best French artists, illustrating 
the entire history of France from 732 A. D. to the time 
of the present republic. The furniture of the palace is 
all upholstered in Gobelin tapestry, nearly all of it dat- 
ing back to Louis XIV.'s time. We saw his private 
apartments, with their Madonnas by Rubens, and the 
wax bas-relief of himself with one of his wigs npon it, 
a sample of the :!(>•"> wigs he is said to have owned. 
There are clocks, Sevres vases, and other valuable 
adornments all through the rooms The ballroom is 
immense and verv beautiful, but has not the original 
floor. The other rooms have their original floors, made 
from the heart of oak. The picture gallery, also used 
as a banqueting hall, is verv grand, having a pillared 
space in the centre for the musicians. The ceilings 
throughout are covered with the most beautiful fres- 
coes, gilding, and bas-relief. There is a suite of so- 
called secret rooms in this palace Avhere Marie An- 
toinette used to rest, and to confer with her husband, 
Louis XVI. The window catches and door fastenings 
were engraved with his queen's initials by Louis XVI. 
As the guide remarked, "he was better fitted for such 



Over the Sea. 185 

work than for reigning as a king." A secret staircase 
led down from these rooms, by which Marie Antoinette 
once escaped, only to he captured later on. ( hi the 
front of the palace are several balconies, the centre one 
being very historic. From that balcony Marie An- 
toinette showed the populace her infant son; on that 
balcony she faced the angry mob when they demanded 
the king's return to Paris, and General Lafayette stood 
beside her, raising her hand to his lips in token of his 
loyalty to her. Admiring her bravery and Lafayette's 
loyalty, the cry, "Vive la Reine," was given by those 
who a moment before wished to slay her. lint their 
friendliness was of brief duration. On that same bal- 
cony Louis XVI. was compelled to appear with, the red 
cap on his head. A portrait of the Dauphin, who died 
in the temple after his parents had died by the guillotine, 
hangs in the palace. 

Quite a little distance from the Grand Palace is the 
"Grand Trianon," built by Louis XIY. for Madame 
Maintenon. Napoleon and Josephine, and later on 
Maria Louisa, spent much time here, the furnishings be- 
ing just as he left them. To Napoleon's chamber came 
Josephine weeping, the night after he divorced her, and 
in the writing room Xapoleon made his war plans. 
Here, also, is the chamber furnished with Josephine's 
furniture brought from Malmaison. and newly uphol- 



186 Over tie Sea. 

stered, in the expectation of a visit from Queen Victoria, 
when she last came to Paris. It was never used, for the 
Queen decided to stay at a friend's castle in Sevres. In 
the large dining-room is a circular oak table, nine feet 
across, made from one piece of oak. 

Not far away is the Little Trianon, built by Louis XV. 
for Madame Du Barry. The original furnishings were 
removed by Louis XVI. when he re-furnished it for 
Marie Antoinette. It is a small palace, but very artistic. 
The gardens are very beautiful, and there is one lovely 
grass plot, known as "Marie .Antoinette's Paradise." 
Across the fields, through which we so much enjoyed 
walking, is the picturesque little Swiss village built for 
Marie Antoinette's pleasure. Poor woman! Well 
might she weary of court life and long to be just a simple 
peasant ! This she played she was when she visited this 
peaceful village. The governor-general met her at the 
edge of the little stream, rowed her across in a small 
boat, and did everything possible to entertain her. The 
cows were driven up to the cow-house, and, sitting on 
the little seat built for her use, she would milk them, 
make butter, visit her cottagers in their little homes, 
look into the bakery, where all the bread for this little 
settlement was made, and also the mill, with its quaint 
old-time, over-shot wheel. There was the Colonnade 
to be enjoyed, with its second-story, cloister-like walk, 



Orcr the Sea. 187 

and the fish in the stream to feed. There, too, was the 
Temple of Love, where she so often gathered little chil- 
dren, amused them, and played with them. She had a 
drawbridge over the little brook, which was let down for 
the favored ones to cross on. Well was it that she had 
some bright, sunny days in her tragic life. The French 
people must have realized too late the great wrong they 
did to her, and to Louis XVI., and that the unfortunate 
king and queen were more sinned against than sinning. 

Between the Grand and Little Trianon is the court 
carriage house, containing the grand state carriages of 
the empire and the republic. There is one state car- 
riage used by Xapoleon and Josephine when he was 
crowned emperor of France. Another that carried the 
unhappy Josephine to Malmaison when Napoleon 
divorced her. The grandest of all was the great state 
carriage used at the coronation of Charles X. There 
are several other state carriages used on various im- 
portant occasions, historic sledges, and sedan chairs be- 
longing to the queens and noted women of the court. 

Could the walls of these palaces speak, what stories 
they could tell ! The Grand Palace of Versailles is said 
to have impoverished France twice over. Louis XIV. 
was the most extravagant ruler, and his reign was the 
longest of any monarch who ever lived, being seventy- 



188 Over the Sea. 

two years. Louis XV. was the weakest monarch, and 
poor Louis XVI. was not adapted for ruling- a nation. 
He reaped the harvest of the extravagance, wickedness, 
and weakness of his predecessors, and was blamed for 
what was really the natural results of the evils of their 
reigns. 

Paris is a beautiful city, but dreadful deeds have been 
done there in the so-called name of Libert v. If its future 
could be as fair as its natural and architectural beauties, 
it would be a Paradise indeed. Let us hope that Peace 
and Prosperity may remain within its borders. 



%o\\Son 

It is a great satisfaction to an American to step on 
English soil and be with English-speaking people after 
traveling for many weeks among Oriental and Conti- 
nental nations. You no longer have to make a little 
knowledge of French or German aid you to understand 
and to be understood. Nor do you have to ask for 
some one who speaks English, for every one is using 
the loved mother tongue, ami you go about with such 
an "at home" feeling, for this is the Mother-land, and 
von are in her great Metropolis, the greatest one in the 
world, the seat of government of the British Empire. 
The process of reaching England from the Continent is 




St. Paul's from the Thames. 

Notre Dame, Paris. 
Houses of Parliament, London. 



Arch of Triumph, Paris 
Blarney Castle. 



190 Over the Sea. 

not always a pleasure, for the English Channel is often 
very unkind to poor sailors, but all those discomforts 
are forgotten when, after a brief interview with the cour- 
teous customs officials, you take seats in the comfort- 
able chair cars, order some refreshing tea and food, and 
after a short journey arrive in London, in a happy frame 
of mind, ready to enjoy all that is spread out before you 
in this great city. 

Distances are long many times between points of in- 
terest, and you have quite a choice of conveyances. 
There is the taximeter auto cab, the various lines of 
'buses, the electric cars, the underground railway or 
tubes, the four-wheelers, and the hansoms. If a rapid 
trip is desired, take the auto cab, but if you wish to 
thoroughly enjoy sight-seeing as you go along, there is 
nothing better than the hansom, and if you ask the 
driver to tell you the noted buildings and places, the 
little trap door over your head will be much used, as he 
gives you information. But take at least one trip on 
a Tottingham Court Road 'bus, sit on top near the 
driver, give him a shilling, and ask him to tell you all 
that he can of the objects of interest on his route, which 
extends to Camden and Islington, passing Holloway 
Prison, and you will get your money's worth of fun and 
information. All carriage, auto, and 'bus fare i^- cheap, 
and small tips seem to satisfy. London is fourteen 



Over the Sea. 191 

miles long and eight miles wide, covers 122 square miles, 
and has a population of more than four and a half mil- 
lions. But the entire Metropolis, which is patrolled by 
the Metropolitan police, covers 690 square miles, and 
has a population of over six and a half millions. Lon- 
don now has nearly 8,000 miles of streets, and averages 
about seventy miles of new streets each year. The 
Lord Mayor's domain, over which he has such nomi- 
nally absolute sway, is only a little more than one mile 
square, extends along the north bank of the Thames 
from the Temple to the Tower, is the business centre, 
and has twenty-six aldermen and a court of common 
council, besides the Lord Mayor. The rest of "Inner" 
London is divided into twenty-eight municipal bor- 
oughs, and is under the control of the London County 
Council of 118 members. It was probably an ancient 
Roman town, and is supposed to be some 2,000 years 
old. s 

Idie renowned St. Paul's Cathedral is the third of the 
same name on the same site. The original Anglo- 
Saxon one and the second St. Paul's were both de- 
stroyed by fire, and the present one was built by Sir 
Christopher Wren, from 1675 to 1710, and although 
similar to St. Peter's at Rome, in plan and architecture, 
has an area only half as great, and the interior is disap- 




AT THE RACES, ON THE THAMES. 



Over the Sea. 193 

pointing and bare, yet the dome is one of the most mag- 
nificent in the world. Then, too, it is in the heart of the 
busy city, with buildings so closely surrounding it that 
there is no open space to set it off or to give one a fair 
view of it. There is a beautiful memorial window, "The 
Raising of the Widow's Son," placed there by Queen 
Victoria, in thanksgiving for the recovery of the then 
Prince of Wales, now King Edward VII., from a very 
serious illness. Among the monuments on the ground 
floor are those to Lord Nelson, Lord Cornwallis, and 
General Gordon, naval and army heroes ; John Howard, 
philanthropist ; Reynolds, Mallord, and Turner, the 
noted artists ; and Sir Christopher Wren. St. Paul's 
builder. Down in the crypts are buried many distin- 
guished Englishmen, Sir John Macdonald, Canadian 
statesman. Sir Edwin Landseer, animal painter, Sir 
Joshua Reynolds, Benjamin West, Millais, Sir Arthur 
Sullivan, Lord Xapier, George Cruikshank and, most 
notably, the Duke of Wellington. Nearby is his funeral 
car, made entirely from the metal of the guns captured 
by him at Waterloo. The money to build St. Paul's was 
raised by a tax imposed upon every ton of coal brought 
to London. 

Whenever a district of the city is to receive a visit 
from the King and Queen, for any official act, like lay- 
ing a corner-stone, or dedicating a hospital, or other 



194 Over the Sea. 

public building, that district is beautifully decorated with 
flags, flowers, and bunting - , in honor of their coming. 
Loudon, like Paris, has centre street lights as well as 
sidewalk lights, and both centre and side lamp-posts are 
made into oval stands, by wooden frames, which are 
then filled with blossoming potted plants and draped 
with bunting. This decoration, with the festoons on 
the buildings, the arches, and the banners bearing such 
loyal mottoes as "Long live our gracious King and 
Queen," "May our loved King's reign be long and 
prosperous," show the people's love for King Edward 
and Queen Alexandra, and make altogether a beautiful 
appearance. It was our privilege to be out driving near 
Buckingham Palace when the King and Queen drove 
out to attend one of these functions, preceded by the 
military escort, and accompanied by two carriages filled 
with ladies-in-waiting to the Queen. Their Majesties 
were in a carriage drawn by four handsome bay horses, 
and bowed graciously to the people in acknowledg- 
ment of the lifted hats and waving handkerchiefs. The 
King is stout, gray, and very dignified, and the Queen 
is slender, fair, and very youthful in appearance, and 
might well pass as the daughter rather than the wife of 
her royal husband. 

The Tower of London is one of its most historic set 
of buildings, and has a varied and interesting history, 



196 Over the Sea. 

Erected hy William the Conqueror in 1078, it was first 
a fortified royal palace, but after the time of Charles 
II. it became a prison, where princes, lords, dukes. 
and even queens were imprisoned and executed, and 
many brave English and Scotch heroes were the victims 
of jealousy, revenge, or evil ambitions. In these peace- 
fid days it is a government arsenal, but could be used as 
a fortress. The Tower Guard retain the strange, showy 
uniform of the Ancient Tower Guard, called the Beef- 
eaters, a name given on account of the regular rations 
of beef served to them when on duty. Judging from the 
present guards' ample girth and ruddy, broad faces, one 
would think that old customs still prevail. The White 
Tower is the oldest part, and has outer walls over twelve 
feet thick and partitions ten feet thick. 

Here in the White Tower Richard II. abdicated the 
throne in favor of Henry of Bolingbrooke in 1399. 
Under the stairway were found the bones of the young 
princes murdered by command of their uncle, 
Richard III. 

Between the White and Beauchamp Tower is the site 
of the executioner's scaffold, where perished Anne 
Boleyn, Catherine Howard, Lady Jane Grey, Countess of 
Salisbury, and Robert Devereux. The Inner Ward has 
thirteen towers, all of which were used as prisons in past 
times. It was in the Bowyer Tower that the Duke of 



Over the Sea. 19T 

Clarence, brother of Edward IV., is supposed to have 
been drowned in a butt of malmsey wine. In the little 
cemetery of the Church of St. Peter ad Yincula, at a 
corner of the Tower Green, are buried the victims of the 
scaffold and the headsman's axe. Among the most his- 
toric prisoners of the tower for a longer or shorter 
time were William Wallace, David Bruce, King John 
of France, Henrv VI., Archbishop Cranmer, and Sir 
Walter Raleigh. In the Record or Wakefield Tower 
are kept the crown jewels or regalia, in value exceeding 
$15,000,000. After the execution of Charles I. all the 
crown jewels were sold, and these jewels have all been 
obtained since the Restoration, but the various crowns, 
sceptres, and other regalia retain the ancient names. 
The King's crown, made in 1838 for Queen Victoria, 
was altered in 1902 for Edward VII., and contains nearly 
3,000 diamonds, 300 pearls, and other gems of great 
value, notably in the front the uncut ruby, given to the 
Black Prince by Don Pedro of Castile in 1367, worn on 
the helmet of Henry A', in the battle of Agincourt, and 
in the cross on the top, the large sapphire said to have 
been the property of Edward the Confessor. The value 
of this crown is said to be $5,000,000. There are sev- 
eral other crowns, sceptres, staffs, swords, bracelets, 
baptismal font, and other state articles and regalia. All 
of this valuable collection is in a glass case, inside of an 



Over the Sea. 190 

iron cage. In other cases are the insignia of the various 
Royal Orders. The gun carriage on which the remains 
of Queen Victoria were conveyed to Frogmore stands 
not far from the White Tower. 

As an armory the tower is of great interest, as there 
is a wonderful collection of armor and weapons, both 
English and East Indian, and much horse-armor. It 
seems hardly credible that either man or horse could 
move about when weighted down with such heavy metal 
suits. 

On Tower Hill, within the present site of Trinity 
Square Gardens, formerly stood the scaffold erected for 
the execution of traitors. ( hit of a past full of dreadful 
wars and contentions the present peace, prosperity, and 
power of England have been evolved. On the site of 
Westminster Abbey there has been a place of worship 
for nearly 1,300 years. The Anglo-Saxon king, Sebert, 
erected a church in 616 in honor of St. Peter. Con- 
nected with it was a Benedictine monastery or minster, 
and as it was west of another abbey, it was called West- 
minster Abbey. Its history was the usual one of abbeys 
in ancient days, destruction and re-building' alter- 
nating. It was entirely re-built by Henry III. in the 
thirteenth century, and by his son, Edward I., but altera- 
tions and additions have since been made from time to 
time, until England now has this beautiful church and 



200 Over the Sea. 

greatest of burial places for her most distinguished sons 
and daughters, and sometimes those of other lands. 

The Royal Tombs consist of several chapels, that of 
Henry VII., erected early in the sixteenth century, being 
the most beautiful. Henry WW., by his marriage with 
Elizabeth, daughter of Edward IV., united the houses 
of York and Lancaster, put an end to the War of the 
Roses, and founded the Tudor family. This chapel con- 
tains about 100 statues and figures. The flags are those 
of the 'Knights of the ( )rder of the Rath, who met in this 
chapel, each having his own stall, richly carved in dark 
oak, with lower seat for his squire, the back of the seat 
bearing in brass the armorial bearings of its occupant 
and his squire, and above each a sword and banner. 
The last one to be admitted to this order was the Duke 
of Wellington. The beautiful ceiling is a perfect ex- 
ample of the florid perpendicular style. Buried in this 
chapel are Lady Margaret Douglas, Mary, Queen of 
Scots, Charles II., William III. and Queen Alary, Henry 
VII. and his wife Elizabeth, James I., and other kings, 
queens, and courtiers. Most interesting to me in the 
Chapel of St. Edward the Confessor was the old Corona- 
tion chair, made of oak by Edward I., containing under 
its seat the Stone of Scone, emblem of the power of 
Scottish princes, brought by Edward I. to London in 
1297, in token of the complete subjugation of Scotland, 



Over the Sea. 201 

and since that date every English ruler has been 
crowned in this chair. The Scots had a tradition that 
the patriarch Jacob once used this stone for a pillow. 
Beside the chair are the shield and state sword of 
Edward III. 

All of the other royal chapels are the final resting 
places of former kings, queens, court dignitaries, and 
people of high birth and distinction. In the Chapel of 
St. John the Evangelist. St. Michael, and St. Andrew 
lies Sir John Franklin, the great Arctic explorer, who 
lost his life trying to find the Northwest Passage in 
1847 ; John Kemble and Airs. Siddons, the great actor 
and actress ; and Sir James Simpson, the discoverer of 
the use of chloroform as an anaesthetic. J. Gascoigne 
Nightingale and his wife, who died in 1752 and 1731, 
have one of the most beautiful groups in Westminster. 
It is by Reubiliac, and represents the husband trying in 
vain to ward off the dart of Death, who is emerging" 
from the tomb to attack his wife. 

Outside of the chapels, in the various aisles and cor- 
ners, the memorials are thickly placed, and the names 
upon the tablets are awe-inspiring, and help to make 
real to us those famous as statesmen, poets, soldiers, 
church dignitaries, and explorers. In the Little Poets' 
Corner are snch names as William Wordsworth, Wil- 
liam Cowper, George Herbert, Major John Andre, Dr. 



202 Over the Sea. 

Isaac Watts, John Wesley, and David Livingstone, and 
in the South Transept and Poets' Corner, David Gar- 
rick, Isaac Barrow, William M. Thackeray, Handel, 
Jenny Lind-Goldschmidt, Sir Walter Scott, Oliver Gold- 
smith, John Gay, James Thompson, William Shakes- 
peare, Robert Burns, Southey, Coleridge, Campbell, 
Lord Tennyson, Thomas Gray, Milton, Spenser, Ben 
Jonson, Drayton, Chaucer, Robert Browning, and our 
own loved Longfellow, besides many others. Very 
many of these busts, statues, and tablets are merely 
memorials, and the people named are buried elsewhere. 
As you enter the north transepi door, near St. Mar- 
garet's Church, the monuments impress one strangely; 
they are so large and so close together that it seems al- 
most like a marble store display, but soon the mind takes 
in the surroundings of the church, and it all seems right, 
especially if the voices of the choir and the rich tones of 
the organ are pealing through the lofty arches, and you 
feel that it is a song of praise and thankfulness for the 
noble lives, thoughts, and deeds of those here honored, 
and that it must be acceptable to the Creator of 
humanity. Among the large monuments in that part 
of the abbey are William Pitt's, Sir John Malcolm's, 
Lord Beaconsfield's, Sir ' Peter Warren's, William 
Evarts', Gladstone's, and Sir Robert Peel's. One could 
wander for hours in Westminster Abbey and find much 



Over the Sea. 203 

to interest and to arouse thought and memory. "Dead, 
yet they speak." "By their works we know them." 

The Houses of Parliament, built since 1840, to replace 
those burned in is:>4, and Westminster Hall, which is a 
vestibule for the Houses of Parliament, and was a part 
of the ancient Anglo-Saxon Palace of Westminster, 
cover eight acres. There are 1,100 rooms, some 500 
statues outside and within, and the cost was some 
$15,000,000, The putside stone, of which it is com- 
posed, is gradually crumbling, and the basement floor is 
said to come below the high-water level of the Thames, 
two rather serious defects, yet it appears substantial 
enough to last many generations. The Clock Tower is 
318 feet high, the Middle Tower 300 feet, and the Vic- 
toria Tower, through which the King enters in great 
state on the opening and closing of Parliament, is 340 
feet high. ' 

In the Clock Tower is the great bell, known as "Big 
Ben," named after Sir Benjamin Hall, who was first 
commissioner of public works when it was hung. It 
weighs thirteen tons. The smooth, yet powerful, tone of 
this bell is heard for a great distance under favorable 
conditions. The bell in St. Paul's is also now spoken of 
as "Big Ben," and is the larger of the two. It takes five 
hours to wind up the striking part of the Houses of 
Parliament clock. A light in the Clock Tower at night, 



204 Over the Sea. 

and a union flag in the Victoria Tower by day are 
shown when Parliament is in session. The House of 
Peers, with its 550 members, and the House of Com- 
mons, with its 670 members, are chambers worthy to 
be the place where the laws governing- the great British 
empire are made. The adjoining lobbies, robing-rooms, 
galleries, and halls are tastefully and richly adorned and 
furnished, and it is an interesting fact that between the 
windows of the House of Peers, in niches, are the statues 
of the eighteen barons who compelled King John to 
grant the Magna Charta. Here, too, is the King's 
throne, and on one side a lower one for the Prince of 
Wales, and on the other a lower one for the Queen. 
The wooden ceiling of Westminster Hall was new in 
1398, and is one of the largest in the world without any 
columns to support it. The hall is '290 feet long, sixty- 
eight feet wide, and ninety-two feet high. 

This is a very historic place. In the early times coro- 
nations took place and Parliament met here. Here 
Edward II. was deposed, Charles I. was condemned to 
death, Cromwell was hailed as Lord Protector, William 
Wallace, Sir Thomas More, Guy Fawkes, and many 
others were condemned to death, and after a seven- 
years' trial Warren Hastings was acquitted. George 
IV. was the last king crowned in Westminster Hall, and 
it must have been an impressive sight when, according 



Over the Sea. 205 

to ancient custom, the champion of the king- rode into 
the hall in full armor, and casting his gauntlet on the 
floor, challenged to mortal combat any one who dared 
dispute the title of the king. 

The British Museum has a tremendous collection of 
most valuable books, manuscripts, prints, drawings, 
antiquities, sculptures, and other rare curiosities The 
Elgin Marbles are the remains of the statues and various 
sculptures which formerly adorned the Parthenon and 
other temples at .Athens. They were taken from Athens 
when the Turks were in power, and now that Greece is 
an independent nation, she cannot get back her great 
art treasures long owned by .England. 

Among the Egyptian antiquities is the celebrated 
"Stone of Rosetta," a black tablet with triple inscrip- 
tions. The French found it near the Rosetta mouth of 
the Nile in 1798, and the English came into possession 
of it in 1802. One inscription is in the hieroglyphic, the 
second in the popular character, and the third in Greek. 
In 1822 M. Champollion and Thomas Young discovered 
in this triple inscription the key by which to decipher 
the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, so the stories of 
dynasties and ancient Egyptian history can now be read 
by those wise in hieroglyphics and Greek on the walls 
of the temples, of the tombs, and wherever their queer 
symbolic writing is found, 



206 Over the Sea. 

The National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, the 
Tate Gallery, and the Wallace Collection all contain 
great treasures of art worthy of the British empire. 
The Tate Gallery has an especially pleasing' collection 
of pictures, fine examples of modern British art, and a 
few pieces of sculpture. 

Tn the south part of Kensington Gardens is the "Al- 
bert Memorial," erected by the English people to Al- 
bert, the late Prince Consort, at a cost of $600,000. It 
is 175 feet high, has a bronze gilt statue of Prince Albert 
wearing the robes of a Knight of the Garter. On the 
four upright sides above the base are 178 figures, life- 
size, in relief, of all the most noted poets and musicians, 
painters, architects, and sculptors. There are four 
pedestals bearing allegorical groups representing the 
four quarters of the earth, and a beautiful Gothic spire 
crowns this handsome memorial. 

There are fine drives through the parks and gardens 
of London, and at certain hours it is very pleasant to 
drive in Hyde Park, see the throng of fine carriages and 
automobiles, and the horseback riders in Rotten Row. 

We only saw the outside of the London palaces, but a 
visit to the Roval Mews was very entertaining. The 
eight cream-colored horses, never used excepting on the 
grand state coach, on the opening of Parliament, or at 
a coronation, were very handsome, with their white 



Over the Sea. 20* 

manes and tails. The state coach weighs four tons, is 
of red and gold, with no coachman's seat, for the horses 
are ridden through the streets by postillions, and foot- 
men walk on either side of the coach. 

A drive on the Embankment of the Thames, viewing 
the busy life on the river, seeing the different bridges, 
crossing the Tower Bridge, seeing Old Bayley, Old 
Curiosity Shop, the markets, Cheapside, Bank of Eng- 
land, the Mint, Billingsgate fish market, and fish women, 
all give you entertainment and food for thought. They 
tell us of the great suffering of London's poor, but in an 
ordinary sight-seeing trip about the city one would not 
think poverty and starvation existed to the terrible ex- 
tent that statistics show. That is the dark side of a 
beautiful picture, but it is kept well out of sight. The 
traffic in London streets is so well managed that every- 
thing goes smoothly. The policeman's power is abso- 
lute, the drivers seem to try to help each other, and a 
wonderful harmony, for a crowded city, is the result. 
The docks extend for miles down the Thames, and ships 
from all quarters of the world may be seen discharging 
their cargoes, or loading for the next voyage. A visit 
to the warehouses and vaults of the docks greatly im- 
presses one with the enormous wealth and world-wide 
extent of London's commerce. 

London offers great inducements to the traveler who 



208 Over the Sea. 

desires to replenish his wardrobe and to secure gifts for 
the home people, for the shops are well stocked, the 
clerks attentive, and prices very reasonable, and happy 
is he who has withstood the temptations of other cities 
visited sufficiently to have a goodly sum still left on his 
letter of credit to profitably invest here. 

The theatres are among the best in the world, the 
companies supporting" the stars are fine, the plays well 
staged, and theatres are so numerous that one can gen- 
erally find his favorite class of play at some of the many 
places of amusement. Tt seems odd to buy your pro- 
gramme of a young woman usher, and to see tea, coffee, 
ice cream, and confectionery brought around by the 
ushers and sold to the audience between the acts. 

After spending several clays in the city, it is a delight- 
ful change to take a train for Windsor, twenty-one miles 
away, and visit that most interesting and grand castle. 
It stands where the monks of Westminster, by grant of 
William the Confessor, and also a donation, had a home, 
which was intended by the donor to be perpetual. But 
William the Conqueror liked the 'spot so well that in 
10(56 he compelled the monks to take in exchange for it 
certain estates in the county of Essex, and he built a 
castle at Windsor, or, as it was first called, Windleshore. 
from the winding course of the river Thames. In 
"Domesday Book" it was said to have fiftv acres of land. 



Over the Sea. 209 

or "half a hide.'" Henry II. held a Parliament in the 
castle in 11 To, which was attended by all the important 
barons of England, William, King' of Scotland, and his 
brother David. During the contest between King John 
and the Barons, which terminated in the grant of Magna 
Charta, he took refuge in the castle, which the next rear 
was ineffectually besieged by the barons. Under 
Henry Hi. it was alternately in possession of the two 
contending parties, but eventually was surprised by 
Prince Edward, taken, and made the rendezvous of the 
Royal part)'. At that time it occupied the space now 
called the Lower Ward. Edwards 1. and H. made 
Windsor their chief residence. Edward [II. re-built the 
castle, with the exception of three towers at the west 
end of the Lower Ward. Edward IV. rebuilt, upon a 
larger scale, the Chapel of St. George, where his re- 
mains and those of Henry VI. were subsequently placed. 
Henry VII. added to the chapel an Upper Ward, and 
Henry VIII. re-built the principal gate. 

On August 3, 1544, Queen Mary and her Consort, 
Philip II. of Spain, made a grand entry into the castle 
from Winchester, where they had been married. 
Charles I. resided there in the first of his reign, and in 
the last part was a prisoner there. Soon after the Res- 
toration Charles II. adopted Windsor as a residence. 
and made manv changes, William III. and Queen 



210 Over the Sea. 

Anne improved the park, planting several avenues of 
elm and beech trees. George I. passed much time 
there, and dined in public every Thursday. George III. 
restored the north front of the Upper Ward to its origi- 
nal appearance, and repaired St. George's Chapel. In 
1824 Parliament granted £300,000 to improve the build- 
ing, and the Duke of Wellington and six other promi- 
nent men superintended the expenditure of this money. 
Since then enough more has been spent upon it to bring 
the sum up to £900,000 used upon it since 1824, with 
magnificent results. Queen Victoria was very fond of 
Windsor, but kept many of the choice objects of interest 
safely packed away, and the furniture carefully swathed 
in linen. King Edward VII. has had it all renovated, 
furniture uncovered, so that the beautiful Gobelin 
tapestry can be seen and enjoyed, the old oak panelings 
relieved of their shiny coat of varnish, so that the real 
beauty of the oak now appears, and all the choice curios 
brought out and placed where they will show to the best 
advantage. He personally superintended the arrange- 
ment of the fine collection of arms and armor. The 
State apartments, where Roval visitors are entertained, 
are open to the public, but the private apartments of 
the King and Queen, which contain priceless treasures 
of art, are not accessible to the public. Under King 
Edward's care, it certainly is the most livable of al.l the 
palaces yet visited, 



Over the Sea. 211 

The Albert Chapel, formerly Wolsey's Chapel, was 
embellished and fitted up with great magnificence, by 
command of Queen Victoria, as a memorial to the 
Prince Consort, and under it is the Royal Tomb House ; 
but Queen Victoria had a fine mausoleum built at Frog- 
more, near by, for the Prince Consort, herself, and their 
descendants. 

The first St. George's Chapel was founded by Edward 
III. anil dedicated to St. George, the patron saint of the 
( )rder of the Garter. At the end of a century the pres- 
ent chapel was built by Edward IV., and has been en- 
larged and beautified by succeeding monarchs. The 
choir is used for Divine services, and for the ceremony 
of installing the Knights of the Garter. The richness 
of the ceiling, the carved woodwork, the beautiful 
memorial window, the banners of the Knights above 
each one's stall, with a carved canopy, supporting 
mantle, helmet, and crest, make grand adornments for 
the chapel. The brass plate at the back of each 
Knight's stall records his name, and titles, and remains 
as a perpetual record of the honor he has borne, but at 
his death the sword, banner, and other insignia are 
taken down. Under the organ gallery are the stalls for 
the King and Royal princes, the King's having a cano.py 
and curtains of purple velvet, embroidered with gold. 
In the vaults of Windsor are buried many of the former 



212 Or or the Sea. 

kings and queens and sonic of the nobility. Besides re- 
membering her father, the Duke of Kent, and her Aunt 
Mary, Duchess of Gloucester, with handsome monu- 
ments, Queen Victoria paid the graceful tribute to her 
afflicted friend, the ex-Empress Eugenie, of placing here 
a fine monument to Eugenie's son. the Prince Imperial, 
who was killed in the Zulu war. 

The adornments and furnishings of Windsor are mag- 
nificent — ceilings by Verrio, carvings by Gibbons, por- 
traits by Sir Joshua Reynolds, Van Dyke, Gains- 
borough, and Lawrence, paintings by all the old mas- 
ters, tapestries illustrating the history of Queen Esther 
and Mordecai, and Jason and the Golden Fleece, mag- 
nificently framed, and altogether ranking as among the 
best in the world. 

St. George's Hall is 200 feet long, with a music gal- 
lery and organ, has a chair of state, in imitation of the 
Coronation chair, and decorations of the Order of the 
Garter. 

The grand reception room has a great Gothic window 
of plate glass, forming nearly the whole north end of 
the room, which commands a wonderful view of the 
surrounding country, and tapestries representing the 
story of Jason and the Golden Fleece. The oak floor 
is inlaid with ebony fleur-de-lis; the furniture is gilt, up- 
holstered with crimson satin, velvet-striped; chandeliers 



Over the Sea. 213 

are of crystal, vases of Prussian granite and of Mala- 
chite, and it is truly a Royal room. 

The throne room is in Garter blue, draperies and 
hangings being all of that color. Here from time to 
time occur imposing ceremonials, when the most noble 
Order of the Garter meets. Besides portraits of Queen 
Victoria and Prince Albert, William IV., George III., 
and George IV., it has an interesting picture, by Ben- 
jamin West, of the "First Installation of the Garter." 
The throne is that brought from India when it was con- 
quered, and formerly belonged to the King of Candia. 
Crystals and amethysts are set in the gold frame, and it 
is very handsome. 

The Waterloo Chamber has the portraits, by Sir 
Thomas Lawrence, of the sovereign, statesmen, and 
celebrated military commanders who were connected 
with the battle and victory of Waterloo. Walls and 
ceilings are white and gold, and the wainscoting is light 
oak. Gibbons' carvings adorn panels, doors, chimney- 
pieces, and picture frames ; there are galleries for musi- 
cians, and the room is used for concerts and theatricals, 
given at the pleasure of the King and Queen. The fur- 
niture is of oak, upholstered in crimson plush, and the 
carpet a dark maroon, with the stars of the Civil and 
Military Order of the Bath. 



214 Over the Sea. 

In the Grand Vestibule, among other trophies hangs 
the flag made by the Boers to wave when they should 
triumph over the English. The Round Tower, between 
the two wards, used to be the residence of the constable 
of the castle, who was formerly invested with great civil 
and military power, but now the office is only nominal. 
In the centre hangs the bell taken in the Crimean War, 
and brought from Sebastopol in 1855. The view from 
the top of the tower is fine on a clear day, when twelve 
counties can be seen. 

From Windsor it is a delightful drive to Eton, the 
quaint old school town, and a brief visit is full of interest. 
It is here that the young boy aristocrats of England 
come for their preparatory schooling. In their long- 
trousers, tight-fitting jackets, broad, white collars, and 
tall silk hats, they look as if they had stepped out of 
some old primer. ( )nly about seventy pupils can be 
lodged in the school ; the remaining 900 live near by. 
There are fine opportunities for athletic sports, as the 
school owns extensive playgrounds. 

From Eton we drove to Stoke-Pogis Church, the 
scene of Thomas Gray's "Elegy of a Country Church- 
yard." It is a beautiful old church, approached through 
a country road, and a turnstile, then through the old 
churchyard, between rows of rose bushes. On enter- 
ing the ancient building, it is easy to believe its great 



Orcr the Sea. 215 

age. It was built in 1100, is low and quaint, mostly of 
stone, with raftered roof. Some of the pews are square, 
notably the one once occupied by Thomas Gray. The 
Perm family, the great family of the place, had a little 
square room, furnished with a stove, and many chairs 
facing out into the church, with curtains that could be 
drawn when desired. From the number of chairs, the 
family must have been a large one. 

Just at the end of the church, in the churchyard, is 
the tomb of Thomas Gray, his mother, and aunt. It 
is an old-fashioned brick one, topped with a gray stone 
slab, on which, in ancient style, was voiced his lament 
that he should be left to survive that dear mother. 
Upon his death his body was placed in the tomb with 
her, but his monument is in a field near by, and has se- 
lections from his "Elegy" cut upon its sides. Near the 
church is the yew-tree, spoken of in the poem, and it is 
so wide-spreading that there must be at least fifty graves 
under it. ddie peaceful scene will long linger in 
memory. 

Hampton Court, the largest Royal palace in Great 
Britain, is fifteen miles from London, and is well worth 
visiting. The estate originally embraced about 1,000 
acres of somewhat barren land, and belonged to the 
Knights Hospitalers of St. John of Jerusalem. The 
Priorv leased the land to Cardinal Wolsey, who founded 



216 Over the Sea. 

Hampton Court in 1515, and presented it to his sover- 
eign, Henry VIII. Later it was the palace of Crom- 
well, of the Stuarts, William 111., George I., and George 
II. The State apartments were built for William III. 
by Sir Christopher Wren. Since the time of George 
11. it has ceased to be a Royal residence, but many aris- 
tocratic pensioners of the crown occupy some 800 out 
of the 1.0(H) rooms contained in the palace, and they 
must be very happily situated, with the beautiful 
grounds to enjoy, as well as the comfortable rooms. In 
what is known as the Clock Court is the famous Astro- 
nomical clock, made in the time of Henry VIII., yet al- 
though nearly 400 years old it has recently been re- 
paired, and is now going and keeping correct time, the 
high and low tides, and phases of the moon, as we were 
told by one of the guard. Many of the best paintings 
have been transferred to other palaces, yet much of 
great interest still remains in its art collection. The 
gardens, dower beds, and shaded avenues are well cared 
for, and in the Pond garden is a black Hamburg grape 
vine, planted in 1768, which has a stem thirty-eight 
inches in circumference, whose branches cover 2,200 
square feet of ground, and which yields from 1,200 to 
1,300 bunches of those luscious grapes each year. The 
English people are very fond of Hampton Court, and 
on pleasant holidays thousands visit it. 



Over the Sea. 21 1 

Knowing that there is much of interest in and about 
London that we did not have time to see, we only said 
"Au revoir" on leaving - , for we do want to again visit 
the capital of our mother country. We have made the 
short railroad trip to Southampton, and are on that 
floating palace, the Amerika, of the Hamburg-Ameri- 
can steamship line, bound for New York, and due there 
on May 2. 

Our journey through Italy, into Switzerland, France, 
and England, after leaving the Moltke at Naples, was 
a grand rounding out of our travels, and, with the Medi- 
terranean cruise, has given us a wonderful experience, 
the memory of which will be a pleasure during the re- 
mainder of our lives. We shall often think with appre- 
ciation of the delightful hospitality enjoyed with the 
Hamburg-American steamship line, on the Moltke, 
the Mayflower on the Nile, and the Amerika. as we 
remember the thousands of miles we have traveled with 
them in safety and comfort, and the many strange coun- 
tries and people visited and enjoyed under their care and 
guidance. 

But now our faces are turned eagerly westward, and 
it is of home we are thinking, for dear ones we are long- 
ing', "For Home is the kingdom, and Love is the king." 



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